The Angel Experiment
by 3VAD127
Summary: AU. Five teens are thrown together as friends under strange circumstances and are forced to fight back-to-back against a common enemy. Their circumstances? They were engineered to FLY. And that's just the beginning of their magnificent super-powers. VIII
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** "Avatar" doesn't belong to me, blah blah blah… Oh. Max Ride, too, is property of James Patterson. It was HIS idea, not mine. (sigh)

**Author's Notes:** OK, so here's how it's gonna go down—I got sick Sunday night/Monday morning (threw up three times) and got to stay home from school yesterday and today, too. I'm gonna write a quick prologue-esque chapter and see how that goes down. If I get enough reviews, I'll continue it. If it tanks, I'll take it off the site permanently so no one will ever have to look at it again. But here's the thing, folks—I haven't forgotten about "Out the Window," so don't worry; I've just run into a couple of road blocks… one of which is called "writers' block." But don't freak out; "Out the Window" will be up and running shortly… as soon as I can figure out where it's going this chapter. :P

ONE LAST THING: This is only the second time in my life I've ever gotten sick, and to be honest, it sucks. D: But maybe if I'm feeling well enough, I'll find the time to write… So basically, it's all up to you. Review and it continues. Don't and I pull it off the site. OH, and this is a crossover between "Maximum Ride" and "Avatar," but you don't have to read the books to get this story. It's pretty self-explanatory.

* * *

**The Angel Experiment**

* * *

"_Five unforgettable kids—with no families, no homes—are running for their lives. Aang Yangchen, Sokka and Katara Kuruk, Toph Beifong, and Zuko Sozin are reluctant best friends of circumstance, coming together only to defeat a common enemy, but finding a little something more along the way. The friends are products of an experiment: **they were engineered to fly. **And that's just the beginning of their amazing powers. Now they've escaped, and they need to know who made them, who's hunting them, and why they were designed as super-heroes with magnificent abilities."_

-Edited text from James Patterson's book "Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment"

* * *

The sounds of a heart monitor filled the whitewashed room with an empty, monotonous tone.

_Beep… beep… beep…_

White-clad doctors hunched over their charts, murmuring and scribbling down data as they eyed their subject. There were only three of them, but three couldn't have been more intimidating.

Two pale bare feet continued to pound away on the treadmill, the track moving at impossibly fast speeds. The young chest heaved with exertion; it must've been hours they'd had him on this treadmill…

Around him, the doctors (scientists) nodded their graying, hawkish heads. "Very impressive," one spoke softly. "I've never seen anything like it…"

"Heart rate and breathing are accelerated, yet he shows no signs of fatigue whatsoever."

"Let's have another go at him, shall we? See how long he lasts this time."

The boy on the treadmill panted, forcing his skinny legs to work faster and harder than they had ever done before. The EKG beeped in warning at what would've killed a normal human being, while the men in white lab coats simply muttered in mute fascination and continued scribbling on their clipboards. The boy turned dark gray eyes heavenward—just a few more minutes, just a few more minutes…

It felt like his heart was about to explode from his chest. The boy gasped, nearly ripping off his head and heart monitors right then and there. He remembered the _pat, pat, pat_ of his bare feet against the track, and the _twick_ noise his dogtags made bouncing across his front. Three hours… he couldn't do this anymore… The edges of the boy's vision began to go gray and hazy as the oxygen seemed to pull itself from his chest. The twelve-year-old collapsed in an exhausted pile at the base of the treadmill.

--

Katara gasped as three men in labcoats hauled a limp, nearly lifeless body into the room where she slept. It was nearly dark in here all the time, and the bright yellow light spilling from the hallway almost blinded her. But the girl pushed through it and watched as her friend was thrown roughly to the side. She curled dark fingers around the wire of her cage—it was like a large dog kennel. And it was so degrading. But thankfully, she and her friend's cages were close enough together that they could communicate easily.

The boy groaned and rubbed his head, trying to push himself up on one elbow before collapsing. Katara cried out for him, sticking tanned fingers through the bars of her kennel to wrap them around the thin, pale digits of her companion. He was panting and exhausted, so Katara murmured words of whispered encouragement and motherly affection towards him.

"Oh Aang… you did so good, buddy. You did so good. I can't believe it…" The light from the hallway was all but blocked off now, leaving the two in a twilight-esque sort of darkness. Katara couldn't help but smile when her friend Aang flashed her a grateful grin.

"I can't believe… I went that long, Katara…" Dark fingers pulled his hand tighter.

She smiled. "I can't believe it either."

Kennels in the room were generally cramped, barely large enough for you to sit up comfortably in. There were also many places where cages were stacked – what? – two, three high. As such, there was another cage directly in front of Aang and Katara where a boy, not much older than the two of them, lay sleeping. At their whispered talk, the teen groaned and uncurled himself from his sleeping position, stretching as much as possible in the tiny space.

Katara could barely make out his silhouette in the darkened room, but she recognized his style and demeanor anywhere. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Sokka," she said dryly. Aang chuckled softly before lying back against the wire in exhaustion. The newcomer grumbled and rubbed his eyes.

"Who what now…?" Sokka took one look at the dark figure of his friend slumping against the kennel, and he knew what had happened. His visage hardened. For as long as he could remember, it had just been the three of them—locked in this room, in these kennels built for animals, constantly being tested and watched and injected with God-knows-what. He was so tired of them taking advantage of Aang and Katara… taking advantage of his family.

The older boy offered a few soothing words of encouragement before sticking his dark fingers toward Aang's sleeping cell.

Just as suddenly, a burst of light signaled that the men were back. Blinking and shying away from the bright irritation, the three barely had time to register anything before six pairs of hands grabbed Sokka out of his kennel and pushed him out the door.

As the light faded, Aang and Katara fingered their dogtags, sharing a separate but meaningful look with each other. Katara ran her thumb over the punched metal tags. Hers read:

_Katara_

_Experiment # 01486_

_Telekinesis_

Aang, the younger, sighed before examining his own tags in the dwindling twilight. They had no last names—they weren't necessary. All he knew was what his tags said…

_Aang_

_Experiment #01277_

_Supersonic Flight_

It was weird, mainly because neither of them had ever experienced something like "telekinesis" or "supersonic flight." Those must've been just recessive genes injected into their DNA, much like their avian DNA which had been grafted into them at a young age. It was easier for their bodies to adjust to the strange changes of new DNA when they were babies and had fewer cells—that way, when their natural cells multiplied, so did their brand-new "bird" cells. Ever since they were little, Aang and Katara couldn't remember a day without this place, without the scientists and this whitewashed hell simply called the School.

But it made them wonder. There were three of them with special avian genetics, and countless others grafted with toad-like genes or some other freakish genetic experiments. Were there others like them out there? Or were they the only ones?

Katara hummed softly as Aang's bare chest rose and fell as he slept.

--

The west wing of the compound was dedicated solely to fire, combustion, and basically anything that could explode.

_I guess that explains why I'm here_, the dark-haired teenager thought dimly. He reached out a hand and ran pale fingers across the cold metal walls of his current imprisonment. They were testing him, he knew. They wanted to see how far they could push him, how hot he could get. Liquid golden eyes narrowed into slits and glared hatefully through the only opening in his metal box.

Idiots. Didn't they know if they played with fire, they were going to get burned?

Fire was all he knew. This cursed compound was all he knew. Heck, he didn't even know his name anymore. The only indication that he was an actual human being was a set of metal tags around his neck, but the teen couldn't even trust those stupid things. He exhaled a fiery breath but examined his tags anyway. They were his only form of identity now.

_Zuko_

_Experiment #01613_

_Pyrokinesis, Radioactivity_

Whatever the heck that meant.

A tinny voice erupting from somewhere around him startled Zuko out of his thoughts. "Begin," was all it said.

Zuko allowed a small smirk to play across his features. They wanted a show? Well. They were about to get one. He planted his feet shoulder-width apart from each other and, clenching his fists at his sides, he began to breathe. In, out, in out. There was a fire that was constantly burning inside him, unable to be sated unless fully released—now was his chance. The teen continued breathing deeply in and out while he let the white-hot pressure build within his stomach.

Tiny orange flames erupted from his knuckles and began licking their way up his pale flesh, consuming his hands and forearms in a matter of seconds. Zuko chuckled and tilted his chin upwards in a show of pride. Golden amber eyes glinted as his fire exploded and consumed him from the inside out. Before he knew it, flames were licking up and across and around his body; the teen turned up the heat and breathed out slowly. He was not holding back this time.

His dark hair began whipping around his face as his entire body turned into radiation. It almost seemed like something out of a movie… but no, this was real. This was reality.

Zuko was a freak of nature, and he doubted if there was anyone else like him in the world. As his flames continued to explode and grow ever-larger, he watched with satisfaction through the hole in his metal cage—he watched as the strange men observing him murmured and gasped to each other. He watched as his fire burned so brightly that the metal walls around him began to waver and shake from the intense heat that was _himself_. And he watched in satisfaction as he began to glow so brightly his observers had to turn away.

All he could hear was a continual roaring in his ears, the fire all-consuming him inside and out. He breathed in, but even that air scalded his throat. Oxygen only made flames grow stronger, and grow stronger he did. Arcs of pure radioactive energy began erupting from his body, lashing out like solar flares around the sun…

"…Stop him… burn down the…"

Zuko's fists shook.

"STOP HIM!" A voice exploded out of nowhere.

Suddenly an eruption of pure icy-coldness surrounded him. Zuko fought back the urge to yell in horror and surprise, but instead collapsed on the ground. His fire was immediately extinguished. The teen grunted and placed a hand in his hair, only to bring it away with a sticky, foamy substance covering him. Fire extinguishers.

He groaned.

They just _had_ to go and ruin all his fun, didn't they?

--

The room was bathed in icy darkness. …Then again, wasn't it always? The girl blinked her unseeing eyes and tilted her head upwards; she could sense the men surrounding her, poking and prodding and examining until she just wanted to scream and rip all their limbs off. But she didn't. She shook her arm lightly, but was only reminded of all the wires and needles attached to her.

"What is your name?" The thin voice came from somewhere towards her left.

"Toph," she answered, voice strong and full. She wasn't afraid of them. She had lived here her whole life, and she still wasn't afraid. She never would be.

"What are you?"

Again, she answered, "Experiment #01235, Sonic Vibration Recognition." It was something the people here did. Since she couldn't read, the men found it necessary to drill into her head every day what she was. She was just an experiment. She had no last name, no home, no family. Her only identity was a random number and a "power" that meant nothing to her.

So the girl held her head high and clung to the name "Toph," mainly because it was all she had.

_I am Toph_, she thought. _I'm different. I'm special. A freak of nature._

She felt a familiar itching, straining sensation near her back, and she tried desperately to work out the cramp. Her clothes rustled loudly as they were displaced by two large lumps moving beneath her shirt. The doctors let out an exclamation and immediately pinned her down. "None of that now, girl," they chided. "Can't have you trying to escape."

Toph stopped and listened; she could literally feel their heartbeats racing in their chests. She smirked. So. They knew what she was capable of. She never wanted any of this crap, but at least there was the occasional upside. She could hear EVERYTHING—their pulses, their heartbeats, the beating wings of a fly one hundred feet away. That was the beauty of being blind, she supposed. The girl tapped the cold tile floor with her foot and listened as the vibrations reverberated throughout the room and returned back to her.

There were only three of them. She could take them.

So, taking every precaution not to hurt herself in the process, Toph tilted back her head and screamed. Sonic vibrations exploded through the air, and her observers were forced to cover their ears lest their eardrums explode. The girl smiled proudly to herself as she sensed the three men fall to the ground, writhing in pain. She continued to scream.

--

Sokka was pushed into a small room, standard here at the School. Nearly every room in the entire compound was exactly the same—whitewashed walls, cold tile floors, a single chair or a treadmill so "They" could watch you. But the South Wing was all he ever knew; the teen had no idea that there was a west wing dedicated to fire, or a northern wing with other strange and incomprehensible beings that could create earthquakes just by opening their mouths.

Sokka stumbled but didn't fall, taking a moment to catch himself against the far wall. He turned to face his aggressors—the same three men he had seen every day for his entire life. He frowned and stood on guard. What sort of paces would they force him through today…? Would they work him so hard he collapsed, like Aang? Or maybe inject him again with a foreign substance, like they had done to Katara just yesterday?

No. Today they only seemed interested in studying what he already had. Sokka reached up to grab his ID tags, but they weren't there. Shoot… they must've grabbed them off him while he wasn't paying attention. He nearly panicked; those stupid tags were the only form of identification he had.

A thin, hawk-nosed man approached him and ordered him to pull off his shirt. Sokka narrowed his eyes at the man but did as he was told. What choice did he have, anyway? If he didn't comply, not only would they hurt him, but his friends would be punished, too. The man hummed as he examined the teen's back.

The dark-skinned boy held his head high in pride; he really was a feat of scientific engineering. Two wings were situated on his back, folding neatly up and down the entirety of his torso. Since the avian genes had been grafted into him at a young age, the wings were as normal for him as for a hawk or an eagle. There were two shallow cavities where the feathered wings folded up, creating a nearly seamless line that could easily be covered up by a baggy T-shirt or a sweatshirt.

A tap on the back signaled him to open up. Sokka did so, sighing in relief—it felt so good to stretch all those cramp out. He unfurled his wings, stretching twenty feet across the entire room, wingtip to wingtip. He had the largest wingspan of the group, considering he was the oldest and the largest male. And he took intense pride in that. The doctors muttered and scribbled, as they usually did, and plucked at his dark chocolate-brown feathers, examining the sheen and the strange deep blue tips on the outside of his largest feathers.

(Sokka would never tell anyone, but his pride and joy were his blue-tipped feathers.)

The hawk-nosed man grunted again and signaled the boy to pull his wings back in before going in for a secondary examination. Needles were injected, blood was drawn, and tests were confirmed as the teen sat there, doing his best to simply grin and bear it. He was getting so cramped again… What he really wanted was to just throw out his wings as far as they would go and catch as much air under them as he possibly could, reveling in the way the updrafts pulled him along—

A thin metal chain was thrust into his hands. Sokka was confused for a moment, but then realized they had given him his re-punched ID tags. They read:

_Sokka_

_Experiment #01527_

_No Recognizable Abilities_

* * *

**Post Author's Notes:** Well! Hope y'all enjoyed! And remember, if enough people love it, I'll keep it going. Just… don't expect super-fast updates, OK? I've still got "Out the Window," not to mention countless other oneshots floating around in my head…

Ha. I love staying home from school. :D

OH! And I have a Facebook now; how exciting. I love adding friends… -3- _Ciao, mis amigos!_ :D (Yes, I am aware those are two different languages.)

Review please! I'll love you forever if you do…


	2. I

**Disclaimer:** Yo. I don't own anything here, not even the concept. The only thing that DOES belong to me is the actual story.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to anonymous, Evil Kasumi, Wishing Only Wounds The Heart, Pepipanda, Shinobi Bender, Togira Ikonka, Hakuryu08, me, Sokka's Fan-Lawyer, kausingkayn, A. LaRosa, AvatarAiris, clockworkchaos, and A Forgotten Ghost for reviewing!

WOW. Just… wow. I did _not_ expect all of you people to review! Thank you all so much; you've kept this story going. I guess I'm keeping it then… ;) I would also like to thank everyone who has put this story/me on their Story Alert/Author Alert lists. You know who you are.

**

* * *

The Angel Experiment**

* * *

"_It's easy to do nothing. But it's hard to forgive."_

-Aang, "The Southern Raiders"

* * *

It was easy to take things for granted. Like oh, say… I don't know, STAYING ALIVE. Seriously, think about it. Normal people expected normal things to happen to them—like waking up in the morning without dying in their sleep; going to bed one gender and waking up the same; or the morning paper and the evening news. Humans _expected_ things.

Yeah, well. For them—that is, the group of four mutant freak kids—it was a blessing if they stayed alive each day. And sometimes, Sokka took for granted just how much of a blessing that was.

Which explained why he was thrashing through the underbrush right now. Sharp thorns dug into his clothes as he whipped by, while conveniently pointed rocks made a quick pathway underneath his bare feet. His lungs ached, and his head throbbed. But he couldn't let them catch him. No way, no how… not on his watch, anyway. Darn these trees. If he could just make it out into the open, maybe he could make a break for it—

A screeching ball of green and black erupted all over him. Sokka screamed, but his voice of terror quickly turned into bouts of laughter as he and his attacker tumbled over and over in the leafy underbrush of the forest. When they finally came to rest, a petite girl, probably no older than twelve, stood watching over him, her small mouth twisted into a familiar smirk.

"Tag. You're it," Toph said cockily.

Sokka chuckled some more as he got up, watching as his friend brushed leaves and dirt from her dark ebony hair. "Why do you feel the need to be like that?" the older boy commented, adding a bit of his signature whine at the end (just for kicks).

Toph shrugged. "'Cause I'm awesome."

"Is that your answer to everything?"

"…Uh, _yeah_."

All Sokka could do was shake his head in bewilderment—while trying hard to ignore the huge grin splitting across his face—as his female companion trotted up next to him. Her head only reached the bottom of his ribcage, while her quick footsteps forced her to step twice where he only strode once. The teen fell into his familiar lazy saunter as Toph somehow kept up with his large strides. They headed southwest, back towards home, as a burning multi-colored sunset sank below them.

It would've been beautiful and semi-romantic. _Would've_ _been_, if Toph had been able to actually SEE it, and if Sokka had even CARED.

The younger girl skipped over a tree root and tilted film-covered eyes towards the sky. Sokka knew what she was thinking before she even spoke.

"What do you think the others are doing right now?"

Sokka shrugged. "Playing Jenga. I don't know."

A devious (and _very_ familiar-to-Sokka) grin spread across her face. "Let's go surprise them."

Sokka matched her expression and offered his arm. Toph took it. "I love surprises."

--

Katara flicked her pawn forward diagonally. "Checkmate."

Aang sighed and got up from the makeshift table, scattering a pile of papers as he went. He loped into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge. "This sucks," he commented absently. Katara wasn't sure if he meant the lack of edible food or the extreme _boredom_ of having no Toph and no Sokka around for the moment.

The dark-skinned girl agreed either way and rested her chin against the flimsy card table. "I know," was her automatic reply.

"I wish they would come back already."

"Me, too."

"It's no fun without them."

"I know."

Aang slammed a bottle of orange soda on the counter, and Katara jumped at his uncharacteristic expression. "What's up?"

"It's not the same when they're gone," he spoke quietly, light gray eyes suddenly clouding over darkly. "And I'm just afraid—" Aang shook his head.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's a dumb fear."

She was quiet. "You're afraid they're not going to come back this time. Aren't you." A statement.

"Yeah. Like D…" he trailed off. Katara shoved off the table and stalked out of the room, coming back a few moments later with a game of checkers. With a quick swipe of her arm, the chess pieces were cleared away to the floor to make way for their new occupation.

"Who's up for a game of checkers?" she smiled enthusiastically.

Aang grinned back. "Actually, I'm kinda hungry."

Katara abandoned the game and scurried into the kitchen to raid the shelves. Dang, they really _didn't_ have anything edible in this house, did they? Dried cereal, some milk that was probably sour, canned beans, canned corn, canned _refried_ beans, ham-in-a-can—

"Ravioli!" Aang exclaimed from over her shoulder.

"Ravioli it is," she agreed. "It's the only thing in this house that's not petrified." The dark girl grimaced as she spotted a pile of grimy papers and a few dirty socks scattered over a desk shoved in the corner. Probably Sokka's handiwork. She sighed. "I swear, no matter how much I clean, this house just will _not_ stay that way…"

"That's what you get for living with your older brother and two twelve-year-olds." The microwave beeped, and Katara smiled at his words as she pulled the can out and handed it to him. "Ow! Hot." He dumped them in a bowl and sat down to chow down. "These are cheese, right?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes, Aang. Only cheese." The boy looked relieved and dug his spoon into the mix. Katara turned back in an attempt to find something for herself. "Let's see, green beans, baked beans, refried beans, lima beans—"

--

As Sokka and Toph approached the house, they could clearly make out its shape despite the harsh sunset light. Their house was shaped like a giant _E_ on its side, each strut jutting out from a sharp hill and held up by large beams. Toph coughed. "Remind me again why we're _walking_ all the way home?"

Sokka rolled his blue eyes. "Because it would be way too obvious if we flew home. Now shush up—I want this to be perfect. We've done this a million times before, but I really want to get 'em this time."

The girl stuck out her tongue impishly as they approached the house from behind. Sokka soon became fidgety with excitement. "Wait for it…"

--

Katara chose some freezer-burnt chicken strips and popped them in the oven. It's not like anyone else was going to eat them, anyway… Well, maybe Sokka. But that wasn't much of a shocker. When the timer dinged, she dropped them on her plate and poured some barbecue sauce over them. A little chewy, but not bad for a midday freezer excavation.

Aang, however, grimaced at the sight of the neglected chicken. "I am _so_ glad I am a vegetarian."

--

"…NOW!"

Sokka burst through the door, shouting at the top of his lungs. Aang and Katara jumped up from the table and yelped a little as he chased them around the kitchen. "Sokka!" his sister screeched. "You are such a moron! You better stop this _right_ now—" She screamed again when he caught her and pinched her sides. Aang was laughing hysterically.

"Idiot," Katara muttered, moving to redo her hair and stand beside the still-giggling Aang. "If you were trying to scare us, it didn't w—"

"_Boo._" They both shouted loudly and nearly jumped ten feet in the air when Toph popped up behind them. Sokka couldn't contain his laughter.

"Oh my gosh… you should've seen your faces!" Katara looked nearly livid.

"I… will find a way to kill you. I will. And don't think I won't." She flipped dark brown hair over her shoulder and sat down angrily at the table to pout.

Now it was Toph's turn to laugh. "Aww, poor Katara."

"Shut up, Toph."

--

A black-haired teen collapsed on the hard ground, panting heavily. He managed to scrape himself against the hard dirt and push his body through the underbrush, finally curling up in between a tree root. Thorny bushes and knee-high weeds hid him from view, while a thick canopy of limbs and leaves blocked out a majority of the sunlight. This was horrible, he thought. To constantly be on the run. It sucked.

He fumbled with his chain metal necklace before stuffing it back under his shirt with a sigh. He was so tired… he just needed a few minutes to catch his breath. The boy rested his dark head in the crook of his arm, allowing liquid golden eyes to slide shut—just for a minute. Just a quick nap.

The next thing he knew, it was sunset. _Crap_, he panicked. They would be after him by now.

Sure enough, off in the distance, his inhuman ears caught the tiny _snap_ of a twig being stepped on. If he wasn't awake before, he sure was now. Adrenaline set in as the pale teen shot off like a bullet through the forest, dodging trees and rocks and backtracking through briar patches in hopes of snagging his pursuers. A wolfish howl followed after him.

If only he could find a clearing…

Because he couldn't let them catch him. _Them_ being Erasers—disgusting, creepy half-human half-wolf people. Kinda like werewolves from all the magic movies. Erasers appeared human but had the ability to morph themselves into savage, mutant-hunting wolf-beings, thanks to the very same Whitecoats that had created _him_. And the Erasers were definitely the bad guys.

His feet pounded over the leaf-covered earth, lungs desperately gasping for air.

Finally, a patch of sunlight broke through ahead. But it was too late. He could already hear the snarls of rage from behind him. He burst through the thick foliage, necklace clanking against his chest. _OHCRAP._ Right before him was a huge cliff, which dropped off suddenly to (surprisingly) gentle and rolling hills. Let's see, fall to his doom, or get taken by the Erasers. Fall to his doom, or—

The Erasers, not yet fully morphed, erupted through the trees and had him surrounded in a semi-circle in seconds. A female with amber eyes and a wicked, red-lipped grin stepped closer towards the boy. "Dear Zuzu," she said, in a way that mocked normal sweetness, "how are you going to get yourself out of this mess?"

The teen absently touched his metal tags. The ones that read "Zuko." His back was against the cliff, and his front was about to be ripped to shreds by nearly half a dozen Erasers. It really wasn't much of a decision, then. He took a breath—

—and jumped.

**

* * *

Post Author's Notes:** Don't kill me. Please. I need to live through high school. So… I went to Disney World. That's the Florida one. And it was _awesome_! I've never been there before, and I'm really glad I went. Donald is amazing. :D But yes. That explains why I was gone for an _entire week_ during the school year.

Will you please review now? You don't even have to offer any advice. Pick out the best thing in this chapter/story, the worst thing, or even just drop me a line to say "hi." Or coconuts. I like coconuts. (:


	3. II

**Disclaimer:** Aah. Why do I even try anymore? _Yo no poseo _Avatar_. Ese honor pertenece a Mike y Brian._

Ahem… please pardon my poor Spanish.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to Shinobi Bender, A Forgotten Ghost, anon, timeisnotmyname, Aryck1095, Togira Ikonka, Miyiku, Toraus, avatargirl92008, Kataang-or-Zutara, and kausingkayn for reviewing the previous chappie. Thanks also to Pheonee and Miyiku for reviewing the prologue. Welcome to the party! :D

I know, I can't believe the fast update on this. But I've really been hit with inspiration for _The Angel Experiment_, even though I KNOW I should be working on _Out the Window_… I've just had no inspiration for _OtW_ at all. AT. ALL. For some dumb reason. (is confused) But I am working on it. I have four pages written so far. HOW EXCITING. So just hang in there, peeps. It's coming, just… not very quickly.

**

* * *

The Angel Experiment**

* * *

"_I'm sorry. I was treating you like a girl when I should've been treating you like a warrior."_

"_I **am** a warrior. But I'm also a girl."_

-Sokka and Suki, "The Warriors of Kyoshi"

* * *

Zuko could feel the wind whipping past his body and through his clothes. He gasped, but the air seemed to be stolen from his lungs. He found out, just then, that it was kind of hard to breathe when he was falling to his death.

But then, the teen righted himself in midair and unfurled his wings. They were huge and opened up with a painful _snap—_much like a parachute—that immediately jerked him upwards. Zuko grimaced. Ow. _Note to self: don't open wings in midair ever again. _He began pushing through the air at a fast pace, only looking back once to notice the snarl of rage across all the Erasers' faces. The teen laughed—he only enjoyed the look of displeasure on that female's face, mainly because it was an expression he had rarely seen before.

He quickly left the Erasers in the dust and took off in a south-easterly direction, so the bright sunset wouldn't be in his eyes.

--

"It's dinner time!" Sokka declared, parading around the kitchen while banging on a pan with a wooden spoon. "COME AND GET IT!"

Katara smacked him. "You are so obnoxious." Her brother giggled and set the pan down. "OK, everybody, you know the drill—whatever you can find in the cupboard is up for grabs." Sokka attacked the freezer while Toph and Aang headed for the canned stuff. Katara herself pulled down a box of cereal from a high shelf.

While Toph and Aang fought over the microwave and Sokka warmed up the oven, the dark-skinned girl sat down at the flimsy table and poured herself a bowl of corn flakes. She added some milk and a spoonful of sugar… two spoonfuls… then three, then four—

"Jeez, Katara," Sokka commented, "you think you've got enough sugar on your cereal?"

"Yeah… _Sugar Queen_. Tune it down a little." The duo snorted to themselves and high-fived each other. Katara glared daggers at the both of them.

"It's not that big of a deal, you guys," Aang commented from behind the counter.

"Aww, how sweet. Sticking up for your girlfriend." Sokka took a swig of the orange soda Aang had left on the counter earlier.

The boy's face exploded in red. Katara slammed a fist down on the table. "That's enough, you two," she said angrily. It was all Sokka and Toph could to do keep their laughs to themselves. "That was inappropriate and _way_ immature."

Toph stood behind Katara and mocked her gesticulations, while Sokka laughed so hard that orange soda spewed out his nose. Aang giggled as he crouched behind the counter, trying to hide from the furious Katara. "Whatever." She sat down heavily and started again on her now-soggy cereal. "Thanks a lot, you guys."

"You're welcome."

"That's mah job."

"_¡__Te amamos tambi__é__n!_" Aang exclaimed enthusiastically. The Gaang collectively cocked an eyebrow at him. "…What? It's like… Spanish… Nevermind."

--

"I'm going out to the shed," Sokka announced later that evening, "to… ah, work on some… stuff."

Katara waved a hand in permission. "Sure, whatever. Just don't die."

He sighed. "Love ya, sis. I'll be back before dark. Don't wait up!" Sokka called as he walked out the door.

"Wouldn't dream of it!" she shouted back.

--

A slight crashing sound could be heard through the thick trees as a black-haired teen fell from the sky. "Ow… crap! Crapcrap—" Twigs and branches bent beneath his weight, as the forest floor came up at him at an ever-faster rate. The thick leaves absorbed most of his landing, but some of the unabsorbed shock reverberated throughout his limbs—mainly his ankles. He winced in pain. _Yeeah… I really need to work on my landings. _He carefully pulled in his wings. Large and black, they shone with an almost angry sort of lustiness; needless to say, they fit Zuko's personality well.

Zuko brushed himself off and examined his surroundings. Pretty much the same forest he left a little bit ago, but this time, no Erasers. He took a celebratory sigh of relief. Now to find some shelter…

It was strange, the teen mused as he shoved through the underbrush, how you don't realize how tired you are until you hit the ground. Normal humans might not realize this, but flying practically sucked the energy outta you. And needless to say, Zuko was pretty tired to begin with, so he was rather _exhausted_ by now.

It was just then that the golden-eyed boy got his first break—shelter. A tiny, beat-up building painted white contrasted harshly with the surrounding foliage. It was easy for him to pick it out among the large trees. Relieved, he used the last bit of his energy to pull himself through the single empty window in the side and collapse into a sleepy heap on the dirt floor. He crawled into the corner and was asleep in seconds.

…Again.

--

Sokka whistled as he trudged through the forest, hopping over fallen trees and ducking under low-hanging branches. A recent rain left tiny puddles of water everywhere.

The teen paused for a moment to examine his reflection in the water. Yeah, they had a mirror in the bathroom at home, but it was always covered in Toph's toothpaste, so it was kind of impossible to see through anyway. He let out his wings for a moment and whistled slowly. _I am amazingly hot._ Dark hair, dark skin, blue eyes, and chocolate wings—Sokka had to admit, he was fairly attractive. And those awesome, blue-tipped feathers didn't hurt, either. They accented his natural eye color.

He fully spread them out. Nearly twenty feet across.

…Well, OK. _Nearly_ being the key word right there. They were technically seventeen and a half feet. But dang, twenty sounded _oh so much better_ than "seventeen and a half."

So twenty it was.

He pulled them in again and continued his journey, this time adding lyrics to the tune in his head. "Two lovers, forbidden from one another… a war divides their people…"

"Gah!" Sokka smacked his forehead angrily. "Stupid song…" The dark teen kept mumbling to himself as he unlocked the door of the shed. But what waited inside for him took him by surprise—

He nearly shouted out loud. "Who are you, and what the cheese are you doing in my shed?" Sokka exclaimed hotly.

The dark crumple in the corner raised his head. Liquid golden eyes sat beneath pale skin, only broken by a huge scar on the teen's left side. Sokka backed up carefully as his adversary tousled his own black hair in a dazed manner.

But as soon as he saw Sokka, he shot to his feet. "Oh… geez, I'm sorry…" he stuttered.

"I asked you a question." The heat never left his voice as the darker boy examined him.

"Uh… I was—traveling, and I saw your shed, and—yeah." The other teen grimaced. _That… __**wasn't**__ very articulate._ "So—I'm sorry. I didn't know this belonged to you."

Sokka crossed his arms. "All right, I'll bite. What's your name? You look kinda funny."

He scrunched his eyebrow and mouthed those words to himself. _I look kinda funny? WTH?_ "Zuko," he answered.

"How did you get out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"I—" _Shoot. And all variations of the word._ He couldn't tell the other boy that he was being chased by mutant wolf freaks; that would surely give away his identity. He needed everything to stay under wraps for now. So Zuko did what he did best—he lied. "I was on a hiking trip with my family, but I tripped on a rock and slid a ways down the mountainside. I don't know how far. But I was really tired from all the hiking and falling and… stuff, so when I found this shed, I just… collapsed." He bowed his head in what he assumed was a humble manner. "I'm sorry."

He heard the other boy harrumph softly. "You tripped on a rock. And slid down the mountainside." Zuko raised his head, and heated blue met amber. "You do realize the nearest hiking trails are three miles away from here."

_Drat._ "Uh… yeah. Well, my father decided to lead us off of the designated trail. I know that's illegal in some areas, but I thought it would be fun. I never dreamed I would be getting lost like this."

"Hmm." Zuko was almost sure the other boy would bite his head off in a moment's notice, if he gave him the chance.

Zuko immediately decided to never turn his back on this kid. Not even for a second.

"Well, all right then," the blue-eyed one said. "Are you hurt or anything?"

"Well, sorta. I think I might have pulled something on the way down." Now that he thought about it, his calf did hurt a little bit.

Sokka nodded. "OK. I guess I can let my sister look at you. She's really good with medicine and healing… uh, stuff like that." He gave a crooked grin that would've looked ridiculous on anyone else except him. "You just stay here while I go get her, OK?"

Zuko opened his mouth to protest. "N—" But the shed door had already slammed shut, and Zuko was left alone, once again, in a small, strange place in a foreign area. He sighed. "How do I get myself _into_ these things?"

--

As Sokka hurriedly made his way back through the woods, he gave himself a huge mental pat on the back. _You gotta admit, that was pretty genius how I just left him there like that._ Sokka knew he couldn't lead any random strangers to his and the Gaang's house, injuries or not. That was the whole point of living in secret. They needed to make sure no one else knew they lived here, so the fewer humans they interacted with, the better.

Though there was something just weird about that black-haired guy. Zuko. He seemed rather strange. Maybe the others in his group picked on him a lot. The fifteen-year-old wasn't quite sure.

It wasn't long before he arrived at the house and explained the whole situation to Katara. Aang and Toph, of course, had listened in to the whole thing and wanted to tag along, too. Of course. So the Gaang took off through the woods toward their shed, where a strange boy with light skin and dark hair waited for them to return.

--

Zuko twiddled his thumbs nervously. What a moron he was, getting himself locked in this blasted shed. He had already tried the door, but that darker boy had locked it when he left. Maybe just a force of habit for him.

Zuko thought about jumping out the window, but then he gave it a second thought. This other guy (he cursed himself for not asking for a name) was offering to help him out. Even if he didn't fully trust the other yet (yeah right!), he could still take free stuff whenever he could. Right? Nothing wrong with that. So while he definitely wouldn't turn his back on the other, he didn't necessarily feel threatened that much, either.

He just… didn't trust him yet.

But what else was new?

So Zuko sat back and waited.

--

The four kids arrived at the shed soon after they left the house. You know, sometimes it really paid to have freaky mutant super-powers.

As soon as Sokka unlocked the door, Katara flew past him and knelt beside the "injured" teen. She could never resist helping something that was hurting or in trouble; she was always rooting for the underdog. But that was a quirk that, Sokka thought, just made her all the more special.

Not considering the… y'know, wings. And the weird genetic code. And all the other… stuff.

She placed a hand on Zuko's chest. "Now tell me where it hurts," she said soothingly, while the other three looked on. Zuko grimaced, more at the look on Sokka's face than the fact that he was in pain.

He touched his calf. "Here. I think I might've pulled something."

"OK," Katara nodded. "That's no big deal. I didn't bring my stuff with me, but we've got pain killer and some ace bandages at home." She made a move to pick him up off the ground.

Sokka exclaimed, "What? No way! We can't take him into our house!"

His sister shot him a poignant, icy blue stare. "And why not?" she bit off sharply. "He's in trouble; we need to help him."

"Because, Katara," he gestured, frustrated. "We can't exactly let any _random_ stranger into our house, IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED. We've got special… needs, and he—" For once in his life, Sokka was at a loss for words.

She rolled oceanic orbs skyward. "Please," she breathed. "Enough with your stupid paranoia. Now get over here and help me get him up."

Sokka sighed but crossed his arms and stoically stood his ground. There was no way in _H_ _E_ double hockey sticks he was EVER going to help some random stranger just _waltz_ into his house. Without a fight, anyway. And if Katara wanted to drag him over to her line of thinking, then she would have to take him down kicking and screaming.

Yes, Sokka was a fun-loving guy and a dumb jokester, but when it came to paranoia, he had them all beat. And once he set his mind to something… it was practically set in stone.

Though Hell should bar the way.

Aang, however, scurried over to Zuko's side and placed an arm around the older boy. Zuko began to stutter. "Guys, this really isn't necessary. I can totally take care of myself—"

Katara placed a tan finger against his lips. "Hush up," she said. "We are going to take care of you, and you are going to like it." Zuko babbled incoherently while Toph laughed behind her hand.

"Sokka's _loving_ this," she commented.

He snorted. "You suck."

With Toph in the lead, the Gaang made their way back home with Zuko in tow and a hesitant Sokka trailing behind. _I don't like this_, he couldn't help but think, over and over. _Strangers are bad news. Always are, always have been._

--

When they got home, Zuko was immediately deposited on the couch (in Sokka's _spot_, no less), and Katara rushed off to get her medical supplies and a bucket of water.

Zuko's face was flushed from all the attention. Aang hung over him while Toph stood in the background. Sokka leaned against the doorframe, pouting. No one seemed to listen to him anymore. Aang asked, "So what's your name?"

He blinked his yellow eyes, seemingly surprised by the random question. "Uhm—"

"Zuko," Sokka said, somewhat crossly.

"Yes," he answered. "Zuko. And what's your name?" He was trying to be polite. He swore, he really was trying.

"Aang," the black-haired boy replied happily. "And that's Toph—" he pointed to the pale, milky-eyed girl dressed in green, "—and that's Sokka—" the dark-skinned, blue-clad older teen he met previously, "—and the girl taking care of you is Katara." Aang nearly preened, clearly proud of himself. He dashed off across the room into the kitchen as soon as Katara entered with her things. She began working on the spot he pointed to earlier.

"He's such a spazz," Toph observed as she "watched" Aang run around the room. (In truth, she was feeling the huge vibrations he was giving off.)

"I know. And when he jumps like that, it's like… a ballet dancer."

Toph nodded. "I agree. How fruity." They shared a chuckle. "I think his spazz-itude deserves a nickname. Hey Aang!" she shouted, finally addressing him. He rushed over to the duo. "You deserve a nickname… much like the lovely Sugar Queen over there." Katara glared daggers at her—which were pretty ineffective, considering Toph was BLIND. "I think, from this day forward, I shall officially dub you _Sir Twinkle Toes_!"

Aang grimaced. "Toph, not that I don't care about you in that familial sort of way, but—"

"—is that really necessary?" Katara piped from Zuko's side. The newcomer wisely kept his mouth shut. This was a family dispute.

Toph stuck her nose in the air. "As a matter of fact, it is," she said in no uncertain terms. "If you will all recall correctly, you might remember that I started calling Sokka 'Ponytail' about a week after we moved here."

"Even though I _have_ no ponytail—"

"Shut up. It's a fun nickname. And after that, I started calling him 'Meathead'…"

Sokka facepalmed. "And after that lovely experience, it slowly progressed to 'Snoozles'—"

"—because you wouldn't get up in the morning," the other three chorused together. Zuko tried very hard to hide a chortle behind his hand.

"What're _you_ laughing at, Scarface?"

Zuko's good eye narrowed. People did _not_ make fun of him like that and get away with it. "What's it to you… Meathead? Or should I just get it over with and start calling you Princess Ponytail?"

Sokka visibly stiffened. He hadn't meant to offend the newcomer… but he and his big mouth—he obviously had anyway. Now his pride was out in the open, and his only option was to protect it. He surely wasn't going to apologize. "I'm _so_ sorry, Your Highness." He mock bowed. "I had _no_ idea a simple observation could rile you up so. Perhaps I should change your name to Prince of As—"

"Sokka!" Katara snapped. "I have had enough of your BS! Ever since we came home, you've been giving Zuko and I nothing but crap." Her brother bristled at the way she said 'Zuko and I.' "You started this whole arse fight to begin with. So either apologize or get lost." Her angry glare cut through him. The others shifted uncomfortably at the sudden change in the atmosphere. Before all this, fights had never broken out among them. Never.

It was weird how a stranger could change all that. How he could screw up the entire Gaang's… the entire flock's relationship web.

Sokka glared. "Don't worry," he ground out. "I was just leaving."

His slamming door could be heard all throughout the house.

--

So. Turns out that those scientists had been on to something when they punched "telekinesis" on Katara's necklace. She could control things with her mind—nearly anything—but her favorite thing to fling around was water. It flowed and ebbed and jumped through the air, always obeying her commands but somehow taking on a mind of its own. She also discovered soon afterwards that her telekinetic abilities, or "magic water," as Sokka called it, had the amazing ability to assist in the regeneration of new organic cells.

In other words, she could help people heal faster.

Katara had used her amazing abilities on Zuko, and in just a few short hours, he was as good as new. Soon after that, however, Sokka emerged from his room. "Is he better yet?" he asked, clearly not at all concerned with Zuko's health.

"Yes," Katara bit back. "He is."

"All right then." He walked around the silent group and opened the front door. "He can leave now."

Katara stood up. "No! He's staying here."

"Katara," Sokka spoke, somehow keeping his tone even, "you said you just wanted to take him back to the house so he could get better. Well, he _is_ better, if you haven't noticed, so he can go now."

"But—"

"Listen!" the teen snapped. "He's better now, all right? And I'm sure he's totally capable of taking care of himself." Zuko nodded his head without even noticing. "I want him gone. NOW. No exceptions. He's a stranger, and he definitely doesn't belong here."

The fourteen-year-old's face suddenly turned sad. "Sokka…"

"No, don't 'Sokka' me. And maybe I am being paranoid about this. But so what. I'd rather have him gone and us safe than to put you all in danger." His visage softened a little.

Katara sighed, but she ultimately knew he was right. Zuko could sense the awkwardness in the faces of the other two—Aang and Toph. He stood up to leave.

"Don't fight. Please. But thank you for everything." He gave a tiny but genuine smile to the blue-eyed girl who had taken care of him. And as quickly as he had come, Zuko left the Gaang.

Katara shook her head in frustration and sadness. "I need some air," she muttered softly. No one tried to stop her.

--

Sokka ran a hand through his dark brown hair as he stood on the front porch. He thought he had done the right thing by getting rid of Zuko and shooing a stranger out of the house, but all he could remember was that look of sadness on Katara's face.

And all he felt like was a great big jerk.

A low howl in the distance startled the teen out of his thoughts. Immediately, all of his senses were on the alert, light blue eyes quickly sweeping through the night-darkened forest. His ears perked up when he heard the noise again.

Oh no. He recognized that howl anywhere.

Erasers. They were headed straight for them. And Katara was still out there somewhere.

But it was too late. No sooner had he burst through the door of their house than he heard a distinctive scream off in the distance.

_Katara._

**

* * *

Post Author's Notes:** Be shocked and very amazed at the uncharacteristically FAST update. Be warned: this will probably never happen again.

I know. I love cliffhangers. Don't you? ;D Now I'm not usually one to beg, but… I would _love_ it if you left me a review. It's really not that hard; just push this green button:

-\/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/-


	4. III

**Disclaimer:** Does it _look_ like I own _Avatar_? … Uhm, no wait, don't answer that…

**Author's Notes:** Many special thanks to Togira Ikonka, Miyiku, ~ME, Pheonee, nobody, Sokka's Fan-Lawyer, and freestyle-spirit for reviewing. And y'all can thank **Pheonee** for the super-fast update. ;)

I KNOW. I said this wouldn't happen again… I guess I should just cover my butt and say this RARELY ever happens. How does that sound? …Whatever. I know. "Just get on with the story, 3VAD." OK, OK. Yeesh. BUT WAIT. One more thing. My school got burned Friday night. On one side of a road is the preschool, and on the other side is the high school and preschool, in very close quarters, I might add. Turns out that someone set our preschool on fire. On purpose. Someone set a preschool _on_ _fire_, _on purpose_. How sick do you have to be to arson a _**preschool**_? But I digress. Since they were in such close quarters, the high school/junior high got extremely bad smoke and heat damage—melted lockers, ruined instruments, etc. We had no school on Monday and no homework for the rest of the week. That's the only reason I've been able to write so much.

**

* * *

The Angel Experiment**

* * *

"_See, Prince Zuko, a moment of quiet is good for your mental well-being."_

-Iroh, "Bato of the Water Tribe"

* * *

Zuko was angry. But only at himself.

He took great gulps of frigid night air to keep his emotions in check. He had always been on his own; that was the main reason he was so hesitant to trust those other kids in the first place. But when they took him in and started treating him, and he saw them interact like a real family should… he knew he was missing something. Something big.

Maybe in another time, he would've been an angry person, hurt and embittered by some great wrong done to him. Or maybe he just would have been a lost soul, looking for a place to fit in. But he wasn't. Yes, he was scarred physically, but other than that, he was perfectly healthy. Beyond that, probably. He had learned many lessons at the School, mainly from a pair of Whitecoats who had taken pity on him—a dark man with bright eyes (who seemed familiar somehow), and an old, grandfatherly fellow who looked out of place at the School to begin with.

The boy breathed heavily as his great wings carried him parallel to the darkened earth below. Maybe they were his God-ordained guardians.

…Yeah. And maybe Azula was a girl with a heart of gold.

--

Sokka's heart was hammering so loudly he was sure it was about to explode out of his chest. _Katara…_ _Katara…_

His thoughts became words. "Katara!" he shouted to the others.

But they had heard her, too. Immediately, the three remaining family members rushed through the door and exploded into the night, wings pushing against the air to gain altitude. They headed for the area where they had heard their sister yell for help.

The three easily dodged through the dark skeletal trees—they had done this many times before. Toph pulled up to fly within earshot of Sokka. "I hear something!" she called to him. "Less than a mile from here. I'm not sure what it is…"

The boy nodded as his dark brown hair whipped across his eyes. "I hear it, too. Aang, pull up. Both of you, follow me! Quickly!" Sure enough, the distinctive _thwack thwack_ of a helicopter could be heard in the distance. As the trio drew closer, large black silhouettes could be seen charging through the brush underneath. "Erasers!"

They dipped down under the treeline, and Aang narrowly avoided a slashing blow at his underside. "Watch yourself, Twinkle Toes!"

"Don't call me that!"

Sokka spotted the helicopter up ahead, hovering barely an inch above the ground in a small clearing. A group of Erasers were hopping in, along with what looked like a struggling burlap sack. That was her. Sokka increased his speed and left the others in the dust. With a huge cry, he slammed his body heavily into the nearest Eraser. They both went tumbling. But the Eraser recovered more quickly than he could, and she was up and over him in a matter of seconds.

Her liquid golden eyes shone maliciously in the moonlight. Dark red lips drew cruelly over sharp canines. "I do believe you're getting in the way." She slashed her claw-like fingers at his face, but Sokka barely rolled out of the way in time. He pushed up to deliver a swift kick to her jaw, but she caught it with one hand. He flipped over and did a faceplant in the dirt. She half-smirked. "Pathetic."

Sokka spit out a mouthful of dirt and noticed how the other two were faring. Aang was performing ridiculous aerial maneuvers and taking the Erasers out one by one, while Toph was holding her own against the group of three surrounding her. He smiled proudly. He had taught them well.

He suddenly felt his opponent pull him up by the back of the collar and smash him against a nearby tree. He groaned. The female snarled at him, "You are a pathetic excuse of a leader, if you even dare to call yourself such." She let him fall to the ground. "What a waste of space."

Angrily, Sokka kicked out and managed to lay Azula flat on her back. She jumped on him, and they wrestled hand-to-hand in the dirt while the chopper continued to whip leaves and pieces of sand into their eyes. The good thing about being a mutant bird freak was that he was faster and stronger than the average human. The bad thing about being said mutant was that he had enemies who were almost as strong or stronger than he was.

Being part wolf kind of did that to them.

Sokka was nearly desperate now as he noticed the helicopter slowly rising into the air. "Toph! Aang! The chopper!" But they were nearly as powerless as he was. The Erasers had managed to pick Aang from the sky and group he and Toph together, forming a tightly-knit circle of never-ending opponents around them. Sokka pounded the ground angrily and grabbed on to both of Azula's wrists, pinning her to the earth. "Where are you taking her?" he shouted furiously.

The Eraser just narrowed her cat eyes and smiled at him. "Go to Hell."

He gave a cry and shifted to punch her in the face, but she was faster. Swiftly, she turned the tide of their fight and picked him up, throwing the teen high into the air. Sokka landed with a grunt against the sharp bark of a tree. All of the Erasers suddenly dispersed and jumped inhumanly high into the air, grabbing a hold of the skids on the chopper. Aang, in a fit of rage, jumped after them and managed to grab a skid, but Azula was there at the door, smiling like she always was. Sokka could see her mouth moving, but he could hear no words over the roar of the blades. All he could see was Aang's horrified expression, the kick in his face, and then his body falling to earth, scrawny wings trying desperately to right himself.

The twelve-year-old landed with a soft thud and rolled a few feet to absorb the shock. Sokka began coughing horrendously in an effort to restart his oxygen flow.

Toph looked upset, wrapping her small, dark gray wings around her tiny frame. She was always so tough on the outside, but she had never looked so vulnerable before. Not until now.

Sokka knew that the same thing was on everyone's minds. He definitely wasn't a mind-reader—not by a long shot—he only knew what was going through _his_ mind at the moment. _Katara. Katara._

_Where are you?_

_I can't believe I let them get away… Those—those monsters have you now. We **have** to start looking right now._

_Where should we start? How do we know where to begin?_

_I hope they don't do anything horrible to you…_

_I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry._

"This is all my fault."

--

"This is all my fault," they said in unison. The blue-eyed one, Sokka, immediately whirled to face the figure emerging from the woods. After being shoved away by the family, Zuko hadn't managed to travel far before he spotted the Erasers. They had followed him.

Zuko didn't know why the Erasers had attacked the family, but he did know that it could only mean one thing—he wasn't alone. He was being chased, and those other kids had been attacked by the same people.

Slitted glacial irises followed the older teen's every move. "What are you talking about?" Sokka questioned suspiciously. In the background, Toph silently pulled her wings in.

Zuko's heart felt like it was hammering a million miles an hour in his chest. "Those were Erasers," he tried to explain as calmly as possible. "They—"

It suddenly dawned on Sokka that Zuko knew everything. _How_ he knew everything and _why_ were a mystery to him, but Zuko knew. Somehow, he knew about the Erasers, and consequently, knew about the School. But then another, more sinister, realization overcame him.

Awash with rage, the younger one grabbed Zuko by the collar and slammed him against a nearby tree. "You moron!" Sokka hissed, blue eyes roiling with anger. "You led them right to us!"

Uneven yellow eyes widened with sudden realization and horror. They had followed him… followed _him_… right to them. And now, they had that girl—

"They have my sister," the fifteen-year-old spoke, his entire body shaking with righteous fury. "They have her. Because of _you_."

Zuko stuttered. His brain shut down. Guilt began to weigh heavily upon his mind. "I—I—" _Didn't mean to._

He could've easily overcome the younger brunette… but he didn't. All he could feel was guilt and regret, and all he could see was the anger and hurt and pure _loss_ in the other's eyes. Zuko bit his lip as he felt his body fall into a cross-legged position. _I didn't mean to._

The sixteen-year-old took a shaky breath. "I didn't know she was your sister," he whispered to the other male's retreating back.

There was a pause. But Sokka's voice was cold and shaky with worry when he finally spoke. "Yeah, well… now you know." And in an instant, the other three had taken off, leaving Zuko alone. Again.

--

"I don't care what you say, Toph, I'm doing this alone." Sokka stormed around the kitchen, rapidly pushing a few cans of food, an important pile of papers, and a set of clothes into a backpack. "I _need_ to do this alone. She's my sister, and I can't stand to see anything happen to her."

Toph crossed her arms, sightless eyes poignantly staring at him with scary-accurate precision. "She's our sister, too, and _we_ can't stand to see anything happen to her, either." Aang nodded and rested his chin on the card table.

Sokka paused on the couch for a moment before sighing heavily. "Look, Toph, not that I don't appreciate that and all, but…" He frowned, unable to get his point across.

The twelve-year-old waved a hand in the air. "No, no, I get it just right, Snoozles. Dead weight is all we'll be."

"Toph, it's not like that. It's just that you're… well—"

"Blind?"

"…Yeah." The dark teen looked embarrassed to admit it.

Her voice rose to a dangerous pitch. "And when has that stopped me before? I can see just fine, thank you very much! You of all people should realize that."

"Yeah, Toph, with the sonic vibration thing. I know, I get it—"

"And what about Aang?" she interrupted. Her companion nodded, eyebrows knitting together in rigid determination. "He's got a 'thing' for Sugar Queen—"

"I do _not_ have a 'thing' for Kata—!"

"—and face it, dude, you're going to need some backup! You can't just waltz out there all by yourself. You're practically hanging a sign around your neck, like, 'Hey, Erasers. Here I am! Come eat me for breakfast.'" The girl shook her head, and black bangs fell before her eyes. "You're a moron if you think you can make it on your own."

Sokka pursed his lips. "OK, so what if I am a moron? But I'm still not taking you. Or Aang, for that matter." The younger moved to protest, but Sokka held up a hand. "Dude, you're twelve years old! This trip is going to be long, tiring, and especially_ boring_." Sokka shifted uncomfortably. "And besides, we already lost Katara. We don't need to lose anyone else. Are we clear?" he said sternly, adopting that 'I'm-in-charge' tone. The duo had no choice but to nod.

"At least take _someone_ with you," Toph muttered angrily.

Aang leaned back in his chair. "I think that Zuko kid knew something about the School," he started slowly.

Sokka glared at him. "No way am I working with that freakazoid."

"Think logically here, Sokka," Aang pleaded, trying to appeal to Sokka's brain. "The Erasers have probably gotten a bunch of new moves since we escaped the School. But they were following Zuko, and they obviously had been for a while. He must know at least a little something about the Erasers. And," Aang leaned in conspiratorially, "how do you know they haven't moved the facility?"

The eldest snorted. "That's ridiculous. But," he added, albeit very reluctantly, "I guess you have a logical point. I _do_ need someone who knows at least a little more about this newest set of Erasers. And God only knows I could use all the help I can get with finding Katara." Sokka nodded and brushed a strand of dark brown hair out of his eyes. "All right then. As much as I hate to admit it… I guess I'll just have to go and—_ UH._ I'll just… find Zuko then," he muttered. "But as soon as we bust Katara out, I'm beating the STUFFING outta him for getting my sister caught in the first place," the teen grunted with a hint of malice.

Sokka added carefully, "You guys will be OK staying here, right?"

Toph and Aang shared a look. "Sure thing, Captain." They both saluted. "Have fun on your field trip." Sokka rolled his eyes but smiled and slung the backpack over one shoulder, leaping off the porch and taking off into the barely-graying skyline.

--

"Ooh, man… just a little lower." Toph groaned again as Aang hit a sweet spot on her back. "Du-ude… where did you learn to give a massage like this?"

"Katara taught me," the boy replied cheerfully. Toph was lying on her stomach with her dark gray wings spread out on the family room floor. (_Katara would have a cow_, she thought smugly.) Her wings were a charcoal-ish color, with pitch black highlights all around the feathers. Of course, she only knew this because Aang had taken the time to describe everyone's looks and colors to her.

Slim fingers coursed over her back and up to the shoulder blades—right where the nubs of her wings were attached. "Tell me about yourself and Katara again."

Aang smiled. "OK. Well, my wings are a creamy white color, with tan stripes and dark brown splotches. Katara has light brown wings—a few shades lighter than Sokka's chocolate ones—and these really cool, almost swirly designs in cream." He sighed. "They're very pretty… you should see them for yourself one day. I can't really describe them to you…"

"It's OK," the girl replied. "You've done a pretty good job so far, Twinkle Toes." She flashed a grin.

A few minutes passed before Toph asked, "Quick. What time is it now?"

"Uh—" Aang rapidly sat up and checked his watch. "Sokka's been gone about twenty minutes."

"Great." Toph jumped to her feet and stretched her hands high over her head. "Let's get cracking."

Aang pulled open the kitchen drawers and stuffed a few necessities into his pocket—a switchblade, some matches, and a few batteries. Things like that. "Are you sure you still want to go through with this?" the boy asked warily.

Toph just laughed at him and patted her companion heavily on the shoulder. "Puh-lease. Sokka's an idiot if he _honestly_ thinks he can leave us behind." Aang smiled back and followed her out the door.

"Uh… which way did he go?"

"…Uhm…"

"…Yeah. Let's try… north?"

"Uh, OK. North—north's good with me." Toph hopped off the porch and spread her wings far, her silhouette highlighted in the growing sunrise.

Aang bit his lip. "Uh… Toph?"

"What now, Twinkle Toes?" She hovered angrily over a spot that (she assumed) was just a few feet in front of Aang.

"North is that way." He pointed.

Silence. Then, the tough girl felt her face flush. "Yeah, well—"

"Don't even say 'I knew that,' because everyone knows you totally didn't." He snickered.

"Oh, shut up. And I totally _did_ know that!" The dark-haired girl sighed. "Let's just get airborne so we can follow that ponytailed moron—"

"—He _has_ no ponytail—"

"—before we completely lose his trail. All right?" Aang nodded. Finally, the duo agreed on something.

**

* * *

Post Author's Notes:** Soo. You've seen some Tokka, some Zutara, and some light!Kataang and light!Taang. So… what do you think? I'm still not sure about ships, so I MIGHT be able to be… persuaded. Or bribed. Or heck, even blackmailed, but I doubt you have anything to blackmail me with. (is suddenly nervous) OK THEN. Well, I hope you all enjoyed, and I'm sorry if it seems sloppy. I kinda rushed to push this one out there. (sweating a little)

Don't forget: I can be bribed. And persuaded through reviews. SO. It's up to you, my duckies, to choose where this ficlet shall go. xD Peace, punch, Cap'n Crunch yo.


	5. IV

**Disclaimer:** Uhm… I no own-o… el Avatar-o. GAH! D: I'll just stick to English. I don't own _Avatar_. There.

**Author's Notes:** Special über thanks to these awesome people!—Togira Ikonka, Shinobi Bender, A Forgotten Ghost, Miyiku, 86thetomato, Pheonee, dPrince, Sokka's Fan-Lawyer, Avatar Airis, KaL KeY, and Isle of the Linden Trees. You guys reviewed! You get a nice pat on the back. :D

Oh, and here's a little note. Something that I did not know—this story has been getting the most hits of any of my other stories. Yay! (: Even _Out the Window_, which has more chapters and more words per chapter than this story, is nearly ten times LESS read than this one. O_o Someone please explain that to me. (runs off to contemplate reviewers) You people baffle me.

**

* * *

The Angel Experiment**

* * *

"_No, Jet. You became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people."_

-Sokka, "Jet"

* * *

Sokka didn't know what to think.

All he knew was that he couldn't keep his thoughts in check. They were all swirling around in his mind and getting mixed up with his emotions. It was getting so hard to sort them all out… The teen swallowed a lump in his throat. Katara. She'd need him to be strong. Keep everything in check. _Keep everything under wraps._

Hatred. His dark brown wings beat heavily against the chilly pre-dawn sky, his entire body nearly pumped full of adrenaline. Sokka clenched his fists tightly. He couldn't decide which people he loathed more—the Erasers, or Zuko.

Sorrow. That stupid feeling that made him collapse in hurt, in anger, in fear, in just… everything. Like it was just too much for him to handle anymore. His knees had nearly buckled before, and he wasn't about to trust them again any time soon.

Fear. What were they going to do with her? Sokka knew what they could do, what they _did_ do. But how far would they go this time? It was a fear for her safety—a fear of the unknown, more specifically—that made his hands shake and his chest clench tightly.

And so many others. He still hated Zuko. Regretted the fact that he had been so weak in the first place. But probably, most prominent and obvious to him, was pride. That ugly thing that kept him from asking for help, or made him hesitate to go to someone who actually _knew_ what they were doing. That's what Sokka was feeling now, mostly. And he had to swallow a big chunk of it so that he could find Zuko and save Katara. It almost made him sick to his stomach.

The teen finally touched down in a clearing many miles from his home. He had only gone out this far a few times, so he was very glad he had brought a bunch of maps with him in his backpack. "Zuko…" he began, speaking rather normally. It would be OK to call for him, he thought, because the Erasers were already back at the compound by now. "Zuko!" He set off through the trees in an attempt to hunt the other teen down when Sokka saw something discriminating. He had just happened to look up when he noticed a silhouette of an eagle soaring against the faint background of the moon.

A very large eagle with two arms and legs.

Sokka grinned and shot off into the air, quickly brushing through the treetops and bursting above the treeline. He spotted his quarry not too far off and just a little above him. He streamlined his body against the cold air and beat his wings harshly, skipping higher and higher as the thrust pushed him upwards.

Unfortunately, Zuko heard him. The dark-haired teen glanced backwards, and as soon as he saw Sokka following him, he was off like a bullet. Sokka cursed and pressed harder, now more worried about his body's aerodynamics than upward thrust. He dipped back below the treetops, opting to use them for cover. Maybe Zuko would lose sight of him. A few more moments passed, and it didn't look like Sokka had gained much on the older boy. The teen gave up trying to be sneaky and instead tried to strategize. Often, Zuko would pull up or loop around in an attempt to shake him off. And quickly, a plan began forming in Sokka's mind.

The dark teen bit his lip and tried to shield his eyes from the brightening sun on the horizon. He couldn't lose Zuko now.

Just then, the older teen quickly turned and banked sharply, but Sokka was prepared. He pulled up and back, twisting hard to the left, and cut his opponent off. He was fast approaching the other male and grabbed onto his waist and pulled his wings in, making his own body completely dead weight. Zuko struggled but couldn't hold them both up, so with a grunt, they both began freefalling toward the earth.

Sokka ground his teeth as branches and leaves whipped by, leaving thick scratches and dark bruises. He winced. He'd definitely feel those later.

Zuko tried to smack him off, but Sokka dodged it. The older teen threw everything he could to get the other boy off of him—elbows, knees, fists, and feathers went flying as their death struggle continued. They both shouted loudly when they hit a thick branch; thankfully, most of the weight of their fall had been cushioned by the smaller branches above. Sokka rolled away as Zuko moved to punch him in the face.

"The freak do you think you're doing!" the ebony-haired one shouted to Sokka. He straddled the thick branch and grabbed it with one hand, the other up to his face and poised menacingly.

Sokka scrambled away from Zuko and planted his back against the thick trunk of the tree. He was breathing heavily. "I was trying—to catch you. I—" and here he hesitated, "—I need to—ask you for something. A—a favor. Of… sorts." He heaved a huge breath.

Zuko's upraised fist was still trembling, and Sokka could've sworn he saw a tiny lick of flame jet between his fingers. He rubbed his eyes as the elder replied, "A favor." The skepticism was evident in his voice.

Sokka winced. This… was not going to end well. "Look… I know I didn't exactly treat you—treat you the best way before, but… I kinda… sorta… Ireallyreallyneedyourhelpsothere." He felt his face flush even as he raised his chin proudly in defiance.

Slowly, Zuko lowered his fists even as his liquid golden eyes blinked in confusion. "A what?"

"A—a favor." Suddenly, the patterns in the tree bark were extremely interesting. He swallowed and felt a bottoming out in the pit of his stomach. It was time to swallow his stubborn pride and just… ask for help. For Katara. "I need a favor from you," he said softly.

Zuko exhaled a scorching breath. "OK… I'm listening."

Sokka raised his gaze so blue met gold. "I need your help," he spoke, more strongly this time. "I'm sure you… at least know of what happened to Katara." Zuko nodded, none too proud of it. "Well, I kinda can't do it on my own. So I was wondering, since you knew more about the School and the Erasers and stuff… I was wondering if you'd be willing to go with me and… like, bust her out or whatever."

Zuko shook his head and blinked again. "Wait… what? So, you want _me—_" he gestured toward himself, "—to go with _you—_" here, he pointed at Sokka, "—on a mission-type… thing to bust your sister out of a maximum security, top secret science lab… just the two of us?"

Sokka blinked his large eyes. He rubbed his neck and laughed nervously. "Well, when you put it like _that_… it does sound kinda dumb, huh?"

Zuko grinned. "You kidding? It sounds like fun."

The other teen shook his head in sheer disbelief. "I—I don't… So—so, you _want_ to come with me?"

Zuko felt his hands begin to shake in excitement. "Well, yeah. I mean, it _is_ kinda my fault she's there in the first place…" he hung his head slightly. "I feel like it's kinda my job to help you out. But also, I've never really done anything like this before."

"What, you mean the 'busting someone out of a lab' thing or the 'just being around another dude' thing?"

Zuko shrugged. "Either one. I'm not exactly… y'know. Experienced. When it comes to social things. Like, uh… people. And—and stuff." He coughed. An awkward silence followed.

Sokka began whistling and twiddled his thumbs nervously. "Soo… we gonna do this thing or what?"

--

Mai had never asked for much. Food to eat, a place to sleep, and clothes that weren't so horribly bright that they'd burn her eyes out. Like she said, not all that demanding.

She just didn't get it. Why did she have to sit here in this horrible, whitewashed, claw-your-own-eyes-out room while Azula and Company got to prance around the country like they owned the place. It was dumb, and stupid, and yeah. She deserved that. Mai knew her place, and it was beside Azula, not living out her days rotting in some underground facility for nerds.

She ran a slim, gloved finger around the lip of her mug. Sharp, carefully manicured nails dipped gracefully into the liquid and pulled back out, flinging darkened droplets everywhere. The girl sighed and said to her companion, "I don't get it. Shouldn't we be out there, helping Azula instead of just sitting around like rotting corpses?"

Her friend gave an all-too-familiar grin that seemed far too large for her face. "Don't be silly, Mai," she bubbled. "Azula's just so good that Daddy decided to send her off on her own this time. But he said she'll be back soon so we can start hunting those freaky bird kids again."

A slim black eyebrow rose slightly. _Freaky?_ She almost snorted. If anything, _they_ were the freaky ones, not those bird kids. At least the others could hide their flaws. But not her. Every time she felt angry, or threatened, or hurt, or any of those other accursed things called "emotions," her hands would shake and her teeth would clench, and she would just… lose control. And she absolutely hated it.

Mai licked her dark lips. "Tell me something I don't know," she said in her low, crackling voice.

A tall man suddenly stood in the doorway. His voice was smooth (too smooth) and his clothes were pressed (nobody dressed like that). His eyes were golden (_Azula_) and his hair was dark and combed neatly (too sharp, not normal). "Ladies," he drolled, that eternal smirk tipping his smile sideways, "Azula is back." And she was there, standing in the doorway, looking as neat and tidy as ever.

Just like her dear father.

He made a move to leave. "If you need anything before you leave, please, do not hesitate to ask. I'll be happy to take care of it for you. Personally." His smile held a double meaning. "Take care, children, and don't come back until you have the rest."

Mai swallowed a bit of her saliva. That man always creeped her out. "Yes, Father," all three replied in unison. Azula added, "We won't let you down."

He smiled once more at his (favorite) daughter before leaving. "See that you don't." And he was gone.

The eldest teen bowed her head so black bangs hung over her eyes. She continued tracing the rim of her cup, scraping patterns through the cold coffee droplets. She still hated him.

--

Sokka popped a peanut into his mouth and crunched it loudly. The duo was crouched beneath a large maple tree, one of Sokka's maps pressed against the ground. The younger traced a finger across the surface as he continued to chew. "OK," he said in between bites, "we're about here." He pointed to a place a few miles north of home base. "But Katara's _wa-ay_ over here." Here, he traced an invisible line all across the map into the southeastern part of California. "At the School, conveniently located in Death Valley."

Zuko sighed and rocked back on his heels. He lamented, "This completely sucks." He tapped Sokka's arm with his knuckle. "Hand me some of those peanuts."

"Uh-huh…" Sokka leaned further over the map as he studied it. "So, basically, we need to turn around and start heading southwest. If we fly at a steady rate and pass over this lake right here—" he pointed, "—not only should we get there in pretty good time, but we should also be able to find our way back using these landmarks as mile markers."

Zuko nodded in agreement as he chewed on his snack. "How long do you think it will take us, tops?"

Sokka shrugged as he turned to roll up the map and put it back in his backpack. "If we fly at relatively top speed all day… then taking into consideration sleeping stops and potty breaks, not to mention headwinds, relative velocity, and other crap like that, we should be there… oh, I'd say by the day after tomorrow or so."

The other teen gaped. "_That_ long? I thought it would be, like… y'know, tomorrow. At the most." Zuko looked confused when Sokka just laughed and clapped him on the back.

"You have a lot to learn, my friend. A _lot_ to learn."

**

* * *

Post Author's Notes:** Another pretty short chapter. Hope you liked it, anyway. Oh, and I can't believe that no one caught the slight Sokkla in the previous chapter! I guess I forgot to mention it… (sweatdrop) But that _is_ another option, if any of you roll that way.

Speaking of which, I was rather disappointed by you reviewers. I got requests for Kataang, a few Zutara, Tokka, and Taang. But nobody asked for Sukka. Not one. Single. Person. I am absolutely… appalled. I can't even describe it. (is somewhat joking here) No, not really. But seriously, c'mon, you guys, I know those are the fun ships, but this is your chance to ask an author to do something different, something crazy, something ORIGINAL! The only truly "original" review I got was from **A Forgotten Ghost**, who requested Zuki. Thank you so much, A Forgotten Ghost! I'll try my best to at least add some friendshippiness; and if not that, I'll write you a consolation drabble. xD


	6. V

**Disclaimer:** _Avatar_ and all related titles, characters, logos, and merchandise are property of Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Nickelodeon Studios. _Max Ride_ is a book for teens written by James Patterson and published by Warner Vision Books, NY. (If you haven't figured it out by now, I don't own a single thing. Except for maybe the concept of this crossover.)

**Author's Notes:** Gotta give a shoutout to these people: KaL KeY, A Forgotten Ghost, imotel, Shinobi Bender, Miyiku, ShadowDragon010, Katkid, Isle of the Linden Trees, Sokka's Fan-Lawyer, AvatarAiris, Ppleater, Aryck1095, Togira Ikonka, nephertiri, and Kiminator Mark XII. You guys sent me some feedback for the last chapter. Awesome! XD I'd also like to say thank you to ShadowDragon010, Aryck1095, and Kiminator Mark XII for reviewing some of the previous chapters. You shall be duly rewarded, trust me. (:

Ugh… I feel like I'm totally abusing you guys. Making you wait so long for each chapter… it's just not nice. I really, really need to start working on _Out the Window_… meh. That's been on hiatus for two or three months… ANYWAY. Hope you enjoy this new installment. And now, I'm off to write my 20-line Christmas poem for English class.

**

* * *

The Angel Experiment**

* * *

"_You both found Aang for a reason. Now your destinies are intertwined with his."_

-Gran-Gran, "The Avatar Returns"

* * *

"What do you mean I don't know anything about reading a map?!" Zuko shouted exasperatedly. His tone had quickly declined from curious and friendly to super-annoyed about… say, three seconds ago. "I know enough to realize that that right there is a national park, and those squiggly lines are rivers."

"Uh, actually, Zuko, that's a mountain range. And those right there? That's the interstate."

There was silence between the two boys for a while. Sokka could see that his companion was still frustrated; apparently, he had a problem with admitting when he was wrong. So the younger teen just shrugged his shoulders and gave a slow eye-roll. "Look, Zuko. I know you're a great tracker, and you've got all these amazing fire powers—which are _totally_ awesome, by the way—and you've been completely self-sufficient nearly all your life. But you can't read a map worth crap. So just leave the directions to me, and when it comes to breaking and entering the actual School, _then_ I'll let you take the reins. As long as you stick to my plan."

Slim golden eyes glared at Sokka. "You're never going to get anywhere if you do it that way."

His companion blinked large blue eyes. "The heck do you mean? Planning works. It does! This is the way I've _always_ done it."

Zuko pursed his lips. He sat up a little straighter, cooled off some now that he realized Sokka didn't have so much of an upper hand anymore. "Listen, Erasers are smart and crafty, too. They _get_ plans; they can understand them easily and foil them just as easily. There's only one way to fool an Eraser."

The tanned teenager's eyebrows scrunched together worriedly as he realized what Zuko was talking about. It was the most hated word in his entire vocabulary. "Improvise?"

He nodded, smirking. "Improvise."

--

Mai clenched her fists as she followed Azula down the hallway. That familiar, sterile smell and bright whitewashed walls greeted her senses—well, more like assaulted them. She blinked in agitation and glared at the floor, following her leader's precise footsteps as Ty Lee bounded along beside her. They were going to see someone special right now. And apparently, this someone could "assist" them in their search for the other bird freak kids.

Pssh. Mai knew there wouldn't be much "seeing" in the next few minutes. Azula never "saw" anyone. She looked at them, looked _through_ them, and demanded obedience. Heaven forbid someone not comply and bow to her will.

A metallic door clanged shut behind the trio as they entered a small, cramped room. The ceiling was far too low, and the floor was cluttered with box-shaped… things. The girl blinked, eyes rapidly adjusting to the sudden change from very bright to extremely dark. She coughed as an unfamiliar, rancid odor ran up her nostrils. "Bleck," Mai said, holding her nose theatrically. "It stinks in here."

"Eew! Mai, you're right. That's nasty."

"It smells like B.O." She made the offhand comment as Azula stalked further in the room before stopping before a crate. Mai could nearly make them out now—they were kennels. Cages, like the kind people kept their fancy animals in. She shivered. It was only by the grace of some twisted-up karma or luck or strange deity that she didn't end up on the other side of those metal bars.

Azula's voice was cool and crisp as she spoke. "Hello, little peasant thing."

The creature… or rather, mostly-human being in the kennel drew back further into the shadows. Azula continued, "I don't have much time for formalities today, so let's get down to business." She crouched down so she could meet the gaze of whomever she was interrogating. "Where are the others."

The experiment emitted a soft growling sound from the back of their throat. "Why should I tell _you_ anything?" Their voice was scratchy but female, and venom was laced through her words. There was an underlying message to Azula, and the golden-eyed girl clenched her teeth as she read her opponent's emotions. _Buzz off. I'm not telling you squat. I hope you burn in Hell, beeyotch._

Sparking with rage, Azula grabbed onto the metal bars in front of her and fisted her hands tightly; the metal bent and molded like putty in her hands. "Because if you don't, I'll tell my father to make sure it's the last thing you do."

And surprisingly, the girl laughed softly. "Good luck with that. Because I know for a fact that your father needs me alive. You kill me, and all your plans go down the toilet."

Mai noted that Azula's fists were shaking slightly, even as she straightened up. Though when she spoke, her voice was once again cold as ice. "That is true," she admitted with a flip of the wrist. "But I know for a fact your sad excuse of a family isn't going to want you here forever. Soon enough, they'll come looking for you." A cruel smile curled her red lips upwards. "Ta. Have a good night's rest; we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Azula and Ty Lee headed for the exit, but Mai looked back one last time. Bright blue eyes shone in the golden light of the doorway… and she was surprised when she could read emotion in them. Hurt, anger, fury… but mostly fear. Fear for her friends' lives.

Huh. Imagine that. Those little creatures felt emotions just the same as she did…

As Mai left the stinking room, she slid a manicured nail over a golden pendant dangling from her neck. Emotions… Like love? Or just the things that she saw? All Mai saw at the School was hatred and anger and jealousy and fear. Rage… pain… hurt…

Love? Where did love come in? She had gotten this pendant from someone special; but how he got his hands on it, she would never know. One of life's great mysteries, she supposed.

Like finding love in the middle of a hell on earth.

--

Toph groaned as she landed roughly on the ground. Spirits, her shoulders were killing her… She had no idea how long she and Aang had been flying. All she knew was that it had been a REALLY long time, and she was exhausted. Aang landed lightly beside her and helped her back up. "Why did you stop now, Toph? We're in the middle of a field."

His companion grunted. "Yeah, I know. I can see." Gentle hills rolled like waves, pushing forward before turning into foothills; a low mountain range could be seen in the distance. "I just… Well, not everyone can be as much of an airhead as you." Toph grinned and conked his head with a knuckle.

"Ow!" He rubbed the sore spot. "The heck, Toph."

"I think we should rest here for a little bit." She accentuated her point by flopping down in the long grass and spreading her limbs far apart. "'Cause I'm not moving from this spot until I can feel my shoulders again."

Aang's wings fluttered as his feet jumped off the ground momentarily. He always hovered like that when he was nervous. An eye-roll. "Jeezum, Twinkle Toes. Take a chill pill and relax. We've been traveling hard most of the day, so there's no way we can miss them. As long as we're headed in the right direction."

Aang picked at his cuticles. "That's the thing, though, Toph," he spoke, voice laced with obvious nervousness. "I'm not sure we _are_ headed in the right direction. I mean, jeez, I don't know what would happen to us if we lost our way. Like, what if we couldn't figure out where we were, and we were separated from the rest of the gang? It would be permanent… like, for the rest of our _lives_…" The teen bit his lip. "I don't think I can imagine a life of never seeing Katara again."

Toph sighed heavily. "Stop with your lovesick crap and screw your head on straight, Aang. We're not going the wrong way; don't ask me why, I just know. And besides, even if we _do_ get lost, Sokka would come looking for us." Her abrasive voice softened just a little bit, though Aang couldn't figure why. "Sokka wouldn't leave us. I don't think he's capable of abandonment like that."

Aang cast a still-worried glance at the darkening horizon as he scratched under his beanie. "I sure hope you're right, Toph."

She snorted. "Of course I am."

The boy obviously brightened. He smiled as optimism returned to his demeanor. "OK then. We'll just rest here a little and leave as soon as we're ready." Aang laid himself down next to Toph and rested his head in his hands. This wouldn't be so bad.

--

Sokka's wings beat heavily against the air. He hummed a small tune to himself as he and Zuko glided across the skyline, the midday sun lying heavily against their backs. Sokka was situated in front of and slightly above his older male companion. "Secret tunnel, secret tunnel… GAH! Stupid song—"

Zuko snorted. "What are you blabbering about up there?"

"Ah, nothing you would know about."

The teen rolled golden eyes skyward. "Dear God save me, for I'm flying with a madman."

"Hey now, I take offense to that." The younger's tone was somewhat playful as a goofball grin tugged at his lips. "Just keep in mind that this 'madman' has all access to the map, the food, and the flashlights."

"…And I'm supposed to be _comforted_ by that fact?"

Sokka was silent for once, and the only sound between them was the whooshing of the wind. "…So were you joking, or were you being serious, Zuko?"

The sixteen-year-old contemplated this for a moment. He really hadn't been kidding when he said those things. Maybe it was better to be honest at this point in time. "I was being serious. I'm not really sure you know what you're doing."

Sokka's brow crinkled. "I know what I'm doing," he huffed. "We're going the right way. We're making good time. The heck do you know… Katara's _my_ sister, anyway—"

Zuko bit his lip. So maybe honesty hadn't been his best option… Wow, he really WAS no good with people. Maybe he should apologize for being so offensive… "Stop being so defensive, Sokka." …Whoops. That hadn't come out right. His thoughts had just slipped through his lips before he had a chance to even think about it.

The pale-skinned one could see the other's eyebrows knit and jaw set in anger. Sokka was mad at him now, apparently. Yeah well, Sokka needed to realize that just because he said something didn't mean he MEANT it. That was _supposed_ to be part of the "friendship pact" thing, right? Understanding each other's emotions despite what stupid slash pointless words they said?

Zuko pursed his lips. Maybe this whole "friendship" thing was harder than he thought.

--

Sokka sat cross-legged on the cool earth beneath the shade of a tall tree. They had passed a sprinkling of trees and patches of forests along the way, which were interspersed with fields. High grasses swayed in the wind but gave way as they blurred into the edges of the woods. He and Zuko had stopped momentarily at a tree at the edge of an oddly-shaped patch of vegetation: barely mature oak trees and some basic grassland weeds. He had patted down a bed of plants as he sat down beneath the giant oak, which was by far the tallest landmark for miles around.

The fifteen-year-old curled his wings in front of him to inspect his feathers. They were very large and wide at the bottom, but the ones near the top—near the support bone—were considerably smaller. But these medium-sized ones were broken up by even smaller feathers which literally served as patches to plug up the holes in his featherwork. He combed his fingers through them, trying to straighten his wings out; they had gotten quite flustered from all that flying.

Sokka sighed. He was sure this would be so much easier if he were a hawk. Then he'd have a beak that was made for this sort of thing.

"Ow!" He jumped even as he pulled out one of his own dark chocolate feathers. Geez, that hurt… even when he did it to himself.

The feather was light (obviously) and fluttered away easily when he blew on it. Soon enough, it caught in the wind and was far out of his sight in an instant.

"Hey." His glacier eyes slid left toward the voice he heard beside him. Sokka refused to acknowledge the other boy. The teen hung his head but pressed on nevertheless. "Look… so what I said back there? That was kind of dumb—"

Sokka shifted toward him. "_Kind_ of dumb?" He snorted loudly. "More like a complete lapse of intelligence on your part. Of _course_ I know what I'm doing… What, did your brain get disconnected or something? 'Cause that was just plain stupid."

Zuko stiffened angrily and crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't need to be such a jerk; I was just trying to apologize."

Sokka was upset and hurt by what the other teen had said earlier. No one had ever voiced so much disbelief in him before. He was still thinking about the things Zuko said, so he was too preoccupied to notice how much weight he was putting into his _own_ words. "Yeah, a brilliant plan. Look where that got you."

Zuko let out a yell and flung his arms down by his sides. Small jets of flames erupted from his fists. "You know what?" he seethed. "Fine. Just go ahead and be that way, arse. I was just trying to do the right thing and apologize to you, and now you have to go screw it all over just because someone shoved a stick up your butt."

Sokka was startled by the flames but determined not to let Zuko know that. So he stood up and put on his tough guy face. "Listen," he growled, "shut the freak up. I've got enough on my plate; I certainly don't need to mess with you and your beeyotchy attitude. All I care about right now is getting to this hellhole of a School and getting Katara out as quickly as possible. I don't care what you say, but I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to get her out safely. I brought you along because I thought you knew what you were doing, and I thought you knew how to take orders; but if you can't handle that, then I'll just leave you here to buy some tampons for that PMS and find your _own_ freakin' way home."

Zuko narrowed his golden eyes, scarred skin pulling irregularly over his left side. "And you're the leader again, _why_?"

That was it. Sokka turned around and let him have it. "_I'm_ the leader because I care about my friends. I don't tell them to shove off, and I CERTAINLY don't question them or try to steal their place in the family." He rocked back on his heels. "But I guess you wouldn't know anything about having a family, huh. Would you, Zuko." A tiny, uncharacteristic, evil smirk graced his lips as he watched the older boy squirm.

Zuko's knuckles turned white, and he could feel his internal temperature rising. The grass beneath his feet began to wither under the heat. Zuko licked his lips as he thought, _I can't believe I almost thought of this…_ _this jerk as one of my friends. What a mistake that could've been._

"No," Zuko said icily. "I guess I wouldn't."

**

* * *

Post Author's Notes:** Bum-bum-BAAH! Cliffhanger! …OK, not really. I guess the only cliffie is: Will Zuko go nuclear on Sokka, or will he let him live another day? …Hmm. Well, I don't know for sure. It's not like I'm the one writing this story or anything.

Thanks, one and all, for casting your shipping votes! I don't think I said this in the previous chapter, but I did tell this to most of you in my review reply. I was asking for shipping requests mainly so I could get a better feel for the audience I'm writing for. Just because you request it doesn't mean it will happen. But it may happen in the beginning, but not really end up that way. :P HOWEVER, if you _do_ have a good shipping request (or a good request of any kind), check out my story _Gesprekken_, where I take your prompts and turn them into awesome little drabbles especially for you! :3

You've read, so now I'd love to receive a review from you. Good, bad, whatever; I'm not really that picky. (:


	7. VI

**Disclaimer:** How many times do I have to tell you? _Avatar_ doesn't belong to me. Now leave me alone so I can pout and count my losses… and my pocket change… HEY. You never know, OK?

**Author's Notes:** Hey everyone, I'm finally back! A Forgotten Ghost, Shinobi Bender, Katkid, Isle of the Linden Trees, Kiminator Mark XII, moonlightbutterflye, Togira Ikonka, AvatarAiris, Sokka's Fan-Lawyer, Pheonee, and safarigirl83—thanks so, so much for your reviews! Every bit of feedback is appreciated, loved, and replied to. (:

Ugh… didn't get much writing done over the holidays. Stupid Grandma's house… I hate her keyboard. (stalks off to kill keyboard) ANYWAY. I hope you guys all had a very merry Christmas and maybe, just maybe, find some room in your hearts to forgive me…?

…As usual.

**

* * *

The Angel Experiment**

* * *

"_Katara, she was my mother too, but I think Aang might be right."_

"_Then you didn't love her the way I did!"_

-Sokka and Katara, "The Southern Raiders"

* * *

Even though the sun was high in the sky and the day was pleasantly spring-y, the air between Sokka and Zuko remained icy. Since their argument a few hours earlier, the two had childishly refused to even look at each other. Because whenever Zuko looked at Sokka and saw that messy head of hair and klutzy gait, all he could think of was, _All this time I've been following __**this**__ idiot?_

The feelings were mutual. Whenever Sokka turned his gaze at Zuko, all he could see was the narrowed, cattish eyes and the ugly red scar dominating half of his face. And automatically he would think, _Distrusting, ungrateful jerk. _No, it wasn't fair, and of course it wasn't right, but the two just weren't ready to trust each other quite yet. They had started off badly, but then they had come to a shaky but hopefully still stable pseudo-friendship.

Apparently still very shaky and not stable enough, for it had crumbled out from underneath their very feet and left them with… _this_ mess. Before, Sokka might have considered Zuko and him to be "sorta friends," but now, he could hardly call the other teen his "traveling companion."

"I feel like I'm in a chain gang," the fifteen-year-old muttered under his breath. After the first twenty minutes or so after their argument, Sokka had tried to goad Zuko into flying just a bit longer, but the other teen would have none of it. He was as stubborn as a mule and loved showing it, too. Zuko sat down in the long, waving grasses, arms crossed and dark blackish-brown hair covering his eyes. Sokka stomped his foot in a frustrated manner before sighing dejectedly and throwing in the towel. Not even World War III could get Zuko to move from that spot, now that he had made up his mind.

Yeah? Well, Sokka had a stubborn streak to be reckoned with too.

Glacier blue eyes narrowed into slits as the teen leaned against the large tree. But that wouldn't work… Sokka was too antsy, too eager to just _get moving_ again. So he began to pace. He trekked around the tree and looped in front of Zuko (never making eye contact, of course) before swinging back around and resting on the huge oak's sharp bark. But then he would tap his fingers anxiously and begin moving again, pacing through the grass heartily enough to pat down a small path in it.

His tan fingers steepled before the bridge of his nose. "We need to move, we need to move…" They didn't have a home anymore; no place of shelter to rest and hide from the bad guys. Now that they were out in the open, Sokka was getting nervous. Really nervous. They needed to either bed down or get moving again; they couldn't just stand around to be targeted like sitting ducks. The last thing he wanted to happen was for the Erasers to catch them with their pants down.

Literally or figuratively, it didn't matter.

He turned to speak aloud. "We need to get mo— AAAHH!" A green and black blur suddenly erupted through the empty space and slammed him against the ground. Sokka gasped and faced his attacker. "What in La's name…"

Black bangs swung over milky eyes, pale lips tugged upwards in a smirk. "Tag. You're it."

Sokka sighed. "Toph, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

She "pouted" as he moved out from under her. In the background, Zuko stood up and clenched his fists defensively. That had been unexpected. Toph said, "Only almost?"

The older one laughed lightly at the teasing, but his face suddenly turned serious as he realized the gravity of the situation. His dark brows knitted together. "Hey… what are you doing here?" Toph crossed her arms and turned away. The last thing she needed was to hear another sermon preached at her. "I thought I told you to stay home! This trip is going to be long and dangerous; definitely not the place for a twelve-year-old, even WITH super-awesome mutant freak-kid powers—" Sokka stopped immediately as he felt two slim arms wrapping around his waist.

"_Me alegra a verte_," Aang mumbled into Sokka's shirt. The older boy patted his companion's beanie'd head awkwardly. "…Um, all right Aang… That's, uh, that's good enough…"

Aang pulled away and bounced excitedly in front of him as Toph punched the boy in the arm. Sokka blew out a huge breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "All right… I'll admit, I'm happy to see you too, Aang." The younger boy grinned energetically. "But that still doesn't explain why you're here or how you found me… us," he corrected. _Gotta remember Zuko's still standing around here somewhere._

Toph rolled her eyes and planted her fists on her hips. "Dehr, Meathead, we told you already. We came because Katara's our sister, too, and there's no way we're letting those freaks get away with kidnapping." She mock-punched her hand, and Aang nodded in agreement. Behind Sokka, Zuko shifted his weight. So they were here to find Katara, too. The blind girl continued, "And we totally followed you the whole way. How _else_ do you think we got here? Y'know, Sokka, you leave a pretty obvious trail to follow…" She smiled evilly at Sokka's incredulous gasp.

"Gah!" He struggled for the right words to say. "I can't believe th— Well no, that's not true… I _can_ believe that, actually… But how did you—?"

Toph rolled her shoulders in a nonchalant shrug. "I don't know. It's not like I can sense vibrations through the earth or anything."

Aang snickered behind his hand as Sokka said, "All right, that's enough with the sarcasm. God, I really regret teaching you that now…" A sigh. "Well… kinda late now. It's not like I can do anything to you guys for not obeying orders. And since you're already here… Well, we might as well get moving. It's almost four thirty right now," he noted, eying the sun's position in the sky.

Aang nodded and fluttered away, while Toph moved to stand beside Sokka. "All right, Ponytail, what happened?"

Sokka looked shocked. "What do you mean 'what happened'?"

She cocked her head in his direction and snorted. "Please, get off your high horse, Sir Know-It-All. You're all angry and uptight. Did you and Sparky have a little disagreement?"

He hung his head in defeat. There was no way he was getting out of this one. Slowly, he lowered himself to the ground and waited until Toph did the same beside him. "All right," he conceded, "you got me. As usual. Zuko and I… had a little argument." He blew a raspberry that ruffled his brown bangs. "We… well, it seemed like we were getting along OK."

A cocked eyebrow. "Seemed like it?"

He nodded. "Yeah. And then we got to talking… And he basically told me that he thinks I'm incompetent, and that I don't know what I'm doing. And, well, maybe he was right. But only a little bit," he added hastily. "Maybe I'm _not_ very confident, but that doesn't mean he can go around saying stuff like that. We're supposed to be on a mission to find Katara, and as of right now, that's the most important thing to me."

Toph didn't say anything for a while. She just sort of rocked back on her heels and looked like she was thinking about what Sokka just said. After a while, she spoke. "Well, I don't know what to tell you." The girl shrugged and rubbed her nose.

"Pff… thanks, I guess. It didn't help me with my problem, but I think I do feel a little better." The older boy stood up and stretched his arms high over his head, wings quivering slightly as he uncurled himself. "You didn't have to listen to me, you know."

Toph smiled but covered it up by pounding the ground with her foot. "Whatever, Snoozles. As long as you don't go telling everyone I'm actually _listening_ to you."

Sokka jumped away from the sudden jolt in the earth by his feet. "Of course. Your secret's safe with me." He picked up his long-forgotten backpack and slung it over his shoulder as he walked over to Aang. Zuko was still standing, arms crossed, a good distance away from the two. Toph cocked her head. _I wonder what his deal is._

--

It was getting dark by the time everyone settled down. Sokka was exasperated at the huge chunk of time they had wasted today, but he ended up conceding with the rest of the group and bunking down under a swooping awning of low-lying, thick bushes. Zuko sat a distance away from the rest, his chin on his knees and his jet black wings resting comfortably against his back. He didn't turn when he felt someone sit down beside him.

"What are you doing over here all by yourself?" Aang's soft voice carried on the night air. Zuko twitched as Toph let out a loud snore.

"Maybe I just need some alone time," the older teen replied. He could feel Aang's gaze traveling over his facial features before resting heavily on his scar, but he ignored it. The once-puffy clouds that had floated across the sky earlier were turning dull, like worn-out cotton. They were bunching together and beginning to twist into angry shapes, showing the world their graying undersides. The wind kicked at the grass.

Aang picked a handful of dead tendrils and let them fly away before he said, "It sure seems like you need a lot of alone time."

A slitted amber eye slid to glare narrowly at the twelve-year-old. "Yeah? Well, maybe I'm just a solitary creature."

Aang sighed as his gray eyes softened in displeasure. He curled up in a little ball but kept his eyes on Zuko the whole time. "You need to stop thinking of yourself like that. Everyone needs companionship, even freaks like us."

Zuko blinked at the word "us." He had never heard that used before… Sure, maybe Sokka had let it slip once or twice in their earlier travels, but he had never said it with as much belief, or as much conviction as Aang just did. Zuko shifted and could literally see the emotion radiating from his companion. Aang just offered him a smile and a shrug.

Uneven eyes blinked in complete confusion. How could one boy care so much about a guy like him?

"Why did you come here?" Zuko inquired warily.

Aang answered simply. "Nobody deserves to be alone. Not even you."

Zuko couldn't help but smile.

But then the moment was broken, and Aang gave a low sigh before flopping back tiredly on the ground. He spread his arms and legs around to flatten the tall grass around them so he could see a little better. Zuko watched him intently. The boy said, "…Why do you think they made us this way, Zuko?"

His companion narrowed his eyes. "Because they're freaks who like playing God," Zuko uttered.

Aang turned his head. "Yeah… but not all of them." He propped his elbow on the ground to hold his head up. "Like, I met this one guy who actually seemed to _care_ about us. He gave us water when we were thirsty, and he sneaked us some extra food if we were hungry." A soft smile spread across his face. "He was very kind… always looking out for us. The other Whitecoats, they didn't care what happened to us. But he—" A sniff. "—he told me one time that he would be sad and upset if anything happened to us, and that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if the others hurt us too badly."

Zuko frowned. "So why didn't he bust you guys out or stop the painful testing? Wouldn't that have been the only fair thing to do since he 'cared' about you so much?"

"Don't say it like that, Zuko." Aang's voice was soft but steady. "He did everything in his power to help us. But he was just one guy, one lower-class scientist; what chance did he have against hundreds of others more powerful and more determined than he? He only stayed so he could help us out." The boy wiped his nose on his sleeve and sniffed. "I really miss him."

The dark-haired boy's angry visage melted away at Aang's confession. He suddenly realized that this ragtag flock of experiments were more vulnerable than he thought. But then again, what did he expect? Were they honestly supposed to be as stoic and emotionless as he (pretended to be) was? They were just kids, too; and now, Aang was telling him about someone—an ADULT—who cared for him and nurtured him in a way that no one else had taken the time to do. And then, he had suddenly vanished.

Zuko placed an awkward hand on Aang's shoulder. "I'm very sorry for your loss." He was sincere, but somehow, the words came out sounding meaningless. "I think I know what you're talking about, though." _(Dark brown hair, eyes that sparkled in an elusively familiar way. Bad jokes and good tea. Long, white beard. Two blue beads.)_ "I met two men at the School, too, who actually had the conscience to treat me fairly. I didn't see them much, though; but everything good that happened to me, I knew it came from them."

"Do you remember much about them?"

Zuko shook his head. "Even though it seems like I was just there yesterday… no, not really. I can remember some snapshots of them, some certain characteristics, but that's it."

Aang tilted his head. "Well, you never know. My guy and one of your guys could be the same guy."

Zuko actually allowed for a small chuckle. "That actually made sense. …Sort of." Aang laughed along. In that moment, he immediately decided that a happy Zuko was _actually_ a pretty pleasant person to be around. Much better than a dark and angsty Zuko. He would have to try to make Zuko smile again; maybe then the sixteen-year-old would start opening up to them.

**

* * *

Post Author's Notes:** So. Have any of you authors out there ever written something and said, "…This is complete crap. I did NOT mean for this chapter to go in that direction." Yeah, well, that just happened to me. Just now. Yeah, I know what you're thinking.

…Well, actually, I don't. That's why it would be very helpful if you could drop me a review. I'm always ready and willing to read them; so if you could please tell me what you thought about this chapter, whether it was pure crap, pure genius, pure nonsense, or OTHER, then I would be very, very happy. Plus, I would most likely send you a little something I like to call a "Review Reply." It's an amazing, magical power that only _true_ authors are capable of. O:


	8. VII

**Disclaimer:** Mike and Bryan are here with me now, attesting to the fact that I don't own _Avatar_. They do. And Nickelodeon owns them… uh, their contracts, so I guess that means _Avatar_ is a part of Nick, too. Curses.

**Author's Notes:** The Lightbulb Master, Miyiku, Togira Ikonka, Kiminator Mark XII, Menamebephil, AvatarAiris, and Sokka's Fan-Lawyer—muchas gracias para ustedes. (: Adoré leer y contestar a sus críticas. In other words, you guys make my world go around. Also thanks to katara602, who just joined the party at chapter 3. ¡Bienvenido!

It should be obvious by now that I don't update as often as I should. And now that I have my driver's license (yay!), I'll actually be DOING THINGS and HAVING A SOCIAL LIFE with my friends. Also, finals are coming up next week, and I kinda need to study for those.

**

* * *

The Angel Experiment**

* * *

"_We kissed at the invasion, and I thought we were going to be together…_ _but we're not."_

-Aang, "The Ember Island Players"

* * *

"Mai."

The raven girl immediately stopped in her tracks. The icy voice chilled her entire body and sent waves of arctic sprays down her spine that rooted her feet into place. Azula. "What do you need, Azula," she ground out, long bangs falling protectively over her silver eyes. "I'm not training with you guys right now, if that's what you're after."

"The new generation can wait." Precise footsteps clicked beside the older girl (high heels on tile), and Mai resisted the urge to glare at her. "I need you, Mai. You're the only one suited for the job at hand." A slim, manicured hand found its way onto her shoulder. Mai couldn't help but chance a look—this closely, she could clearly see the enlarged pores where Azula's scraggly hair follicles would poke out. But right now, her hairs were thin and fine, like a well-bred young lady. A set of eyes found the floor as Azula stalked her prey.

"I need you to do me a favor," the younger girl continued, catching her friend's gaze with her own piercing amber one. "I think Father… underestimates the girl's ability." This was the first time Azula had ever said such a thing. Voicing discontent or disapproval was as good as a betrayal in Ozai's eyes. (Just look what happened to Zuko.) "He hasn't put enough guards around her chamber. But you… you've seen her in action. You know what she's capable of."

An imperceptible nod.

A red-lipped smirk twisted her face into something evil. "I knew you'd see it my way. Go make sure that there's a good solid wall between that _thing_ and her escape."

Mai's brows plunged. She wasn't a thing… she was a _she_. Capable of thoughts and emotions just like everyone else. The Eraser continued her walk down the hallway even as she heard Azula's heels stalking away in the other direction.

--

So. Turned out that Sokka was right.

That moron _actually_ knew what he was talking about when he said the trip would be "long, boring, and dangerous." Pfft. At the time, Toph had refused to believe him. But now… now that they had been flying for God-knew-how-long (much longer than she had traveled with Aang), and the hot midday sun was beating down on her sensitive skin and soaking into her charcoal-colored wings; she felt so hot that she honestly thought she might spontaneously combust. Just _boom!_, and a million little Toph pieces might go flying everywhere.

She wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. "Sokka… where are we?"

He probably shrugged, but she couldn't tell. "There's a few roads down there and some fields, but that's about it. Oh, and a big barn. Not much else."

But Zuko, who was flying near the back of the formation, did spot something else. There was a group of kids, probably not much older than he was, surrounding a younger girl. Ganging up on her. His golden eyes narrowed as the others noticed it too.

"Hey… what's going on down there?" Aang pointed.

Zuko's voice was low. "I think I know." He tucked his blackish wings in, quickly dropping in altitude and landing a little roughly behind the barn. The rest of the group was still circling above him, trying to stay out of the kids' line of vision. He waved a hand at them, trying to get them to fly away and just _get the heck out of there_. Aang was the only one close enough to notice… but Zuko saw a little flash of sadness in his eyes as the three disappeared.

He turned around and approached the gang, putting on his best face. Not like he had to try that hard; his scar did most of the talking for him. "What are you doing?" he growled, crossing his arms.

One of the kids waved around a shotgun, though it was obvious he had no idea how to use it. A big burly kid with an ugly nose and a letterman's jacket sneered at him. "I suggest you get going, freak. This little lady's our friend, and you have no business interfering in our _discussion_."

Uneven eyes narrowed. _Yeah right._ One of the bullies actually tried to lift his gun, and quick as a flash, Zuko had darted around the girl in the middle and punched the guy in the face. Zuko winced as he felt the other's nose collapse under his fist. Crap… he didn't know humans were so _fragile_.

The big one came at him from the back, but Zuko stopped him in his tracks with a swift elbow in the gut, followed by a rib-cracking kick. He groaned and fell over. The remaining bullies looked nervously at each other before backing away just a little bit. Zuko took his opportunity to scoop the girl into his arms and drop her off behind the barn. He didn't get a very good look at her, but he did manage to catch the tiny "thank you" she gave him before he started running again.

As he made for the woods, he couldn't help but start thinking. He was always running away, trying to escape certain death or dismemberment. He tried to be the good guy, take care of someone else for a change, but no. The universe couldn't even give him a LITTLE slack.

He darted behind a tree and sat there, evening out his breaths quietly. So. That wasn't so bad.

And then it started raining.

--

The three remaining flock members were silent as they coasted on air currents. It was obvious that Aang regretted leaving Zuko behind, but he didn't want to say anything about it. Toph, who hadn't seen anything, was extremely curious as to what _exactly_ happened—all she could gather was that Zuko was no longer traveling with them. And the eldest boy's face was pensive, something that was becoming more and more usual. Sokka didn't smile as much, or laugh at all really, and he certainly didn't crack stupid jokes like he used to.

Running for your life just sucked like that.

Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, a jagged cliffside appeared from the hilly scenery, cutting across the land like a knife blade. "Looks like we're near a fault line," Sokka observed.

"I see something," Aang said, angling his cream-colored wings to swoop lower. "Come here!" The other two followed him to a small cave that had been carved into the face of the cliff. The floor was sandy and much better for sleeping than solid rock.

Toph looked relieved to have her feet firmly planted in something solid again. Sokka looked around the small area and nodded. "Nice eagle eye, Aang." The younger boy nodded appreciatively before folding in his wings and retreating to the back of the cavern; he had to duck the last few feet so he wouldn't hit his head.

Meanwhile, Sokka slung his backpack on the ground and started rooting through it—he tossed aside an undergarment, a big stack of important-looking papers, and a few empty wrappers before finding some food at the bottom. "Aha!" He displayed his prize—four protein bars—before distributing them evenly among them. The younger two practically stuffed the entire bar in their mouths at one time, and Sokka was tempted to do the same. Aang and Toph both had stupidly high metabolisms, and while he could out-eat anyone if he _wanted_ to, those two could out-eat him because they _needed_ to. They burned through calories so fast it made his head spin.

When they were done, the family settled into the sand with a sigh, Sokka using his limp backpack as a crude pillow. "Guess we're sleeping here for the night," Toph commented. She placed a hand on the ground, and with careful concentration, managed to move a small ledge of earth just under her feet. "All right, success!" she exclaimed before propping her feet up and promptly falling asleep.

Aang laughed softly before curling up in a ball. He too was out like a light in a matter of moments.

The fifteen-year-old sighed. Now if only _he_ could start dreaming like that.

--

Mai entered slowly, softly—quite unlike her. She glided through the door and shut it, careful not to make too much noise. She crinkled her nose; that smell still disgusted her. Her long legs guided her to the place where she needed to be: in front of an animal crate, size large, with someone curled up inside. The dark-haired girl squatted down before coming face-to-face, or nose-to-nose, with a pair of sharp blue eyes gleaming in the weak light.

The younger one was backed far into her holding cell, wings slightly out to make her look bigger. Mai actually felt kind of… sorry for her. She slid her pale fingers through the bars, wiggling them and testing the girl's—Katara's—reaction. She glanced at Mai's fingers quickly but didn't linger too long.

Mai retracted her hand. "All right… I can see you. Tell me, what are you doing back there?"

Katara shifted slightly, brushing a scraggly strand of hair behind her ear. Her voice was rough from abuse. "What are you talking about? Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with the others?"

Mai's impassive look helped to bounce away her anger. "I know what you can do. Why don't you just bust yourself out of here and get it over with?"

The girl experiment drooped and faded. "M-my friends," she choked. "I know they're looking for me. And… and I don't know how."

The Eraser nodded, dark eyebrows barely twitching together. "You'll get better. Trust me. But don't let anyone convince you that you _can't_."

The dark-skinned girl looked so surprised, but she quickly masked it behind a plain face. She nodded, and for the first time, some of her old personality rushed back to her.

Mai quickly shot to her feet when she heard the door opening. As soon as she saw who was there behind the bright rush of light, she bowed her head and walked out. This was a family matter.

Katara clenched her fists and backed up when a pair of feet stopped before her door. She swallowed and set her face. No emotions, no emotions, don't feel a THING. It'll be the death of you. But she choked on everything when a familiar form crouched before her. The man—the Whitecoat—had darkly-tanned skin. Bright blue eyes (just like her)… and a crooked smile (just like her brother). A million memories of scraped knees and lemonade on hot summer days flashed before her eyes.

He looked at her kindly. "Hello Katara… my lovely daughter."

Quivering, angry, FURIOUS, she bent over on herself. She was gonna be sick. "Dad."

--

_K-chink!_

Zuko jerked himself back into reality when he heard a bullet explode way too close for comfort. A little bit panicked, he shot off deeper into the woods, using the tall trees and darkening skyline to (hopefully) hide his form. Behind him, he heard more gunshots and a band of teenagers yelling to each other and crashing through the underbrush. Zuko silently cursed at himself. How did he not notice them coming?

He barely ducked a shot that exploded right next to his head. Crap. Those stupid bullies must've called for backup or something…

…Or finally figured out how to use their handguns.

"Ah!" He cried out when a lucky shot managed to graze his shoulder. It burned like fire. He stumbled through the dark underbrush, tripping over some fallen branches before collapsing into a shallow ditch in the forest floor. The teen placed a hand on his wound, and it came back sticky. He cursed again. Stupid lucky shots… now his shoulder was useless, and he couldn't fly. Zuko was 99 percent sure it nicked his wing, too.

The rain was still falling down, patting against the leaves and providing some sound cover for his rasping breaths. Zuko shivered. So even though he was radioactive, that didn't mean he was hot all the time. He got cold just like normal people…

…His scarred face twisted up in a grimace as a wave of pain swept over his upper left side. Now was one of those times he wished he could get ANGRY enough to just generate some freaking _fire_. But no. His stupid powers only worked SOMETIMES. And besides, the light would give him away.

The teen held his breath when he heard the gang coming closer. They crashed through the leaves and brush like a herd of elephants; he was sure that even if he were deaf, he would hear them a mile away.

Oh no. Oh no…

Yes. Oh God, yes. They flew right by him, still screaming and shouting and cursing. He let out a sigh, wiping the rain from his forehead and out of his eyes. He guessed the universe couldn't hate him _that_ much.

…

Half an hour later found Zuko cursing once again. Surprise surprise. He was soaking wet, he was cold, and he wanted to get out of this freaking RAIN. Not to mention his stupidly-sore feet, how his stomach was practically eating itself, and… oh yeah… his bloody shoulder. But he trudged on, determined to find a light somewhere at the end of this tunnel.

To his immense surprise, it actually did. He was too focused on his thoughts, and before he knew it, he had stumbled onto the edge of someone's yard, their soft golden lights illuminating the grass. He hadn't even noticed the trees thinning out, or the packed dirt hiking trails. Crap.

Zuko froze, eyes wide, when a girl about his age stepped outside. She had on a raincoat and was trying to convince an overly-large wiener dog to come outside and take a whiz. The pale boy stood stock still. Maybe the darkness could hide him.

"Molly," the brown-haired girl called. "Go do your business so we can get out of this rain."

The dog yipped and started running around the yard, barking hysterically like dachshunds sometimes do. Zuko heard a raindrop sizzle when it hit his bare skin. Shoot… nervousness and being cornered made his body temperature spike. The little dog stopped abruptly and started sniffing, walking around in circles in the yard. _Please don't come over here, please don't notice me…_ The dog noticed him. It stopped and growled, waiting for its owner to come over.

The dog barked. The girl looked scared at the idea of an intruder. Zuko held his breath. _Please._

"Hey… I know you." Her voice was soft and melodic as she pulled the raincoat tighter. "You saved me from those bullies."

Golden eyes shot wide open. Right then, he had the brilliant idea to just turn around and RUN. The perfect escape plan. He shouldn't even be here right now, much less talking to her like this. But her voice was so quiet, and her eyes were so sincere. He did help her, didn't he? "Those guys were beating on me, but you chased them away."

Zuko knew he had to run, but he didn't. He stopped. And he smiled slightly, proud of himself. She continued, "Um, I don't think you caught my name, but I'm Song." Her brown eyes danced. "Myself and my adopted sister live here, with Molly of course, and our caretaker. He's a really nice old man; you should come in and meet him. Will you come with me please?" Song tugged his arm hopefully, and Zuko resisted the urge to brush her off.

"Um, well… I guess it would be nice to get out of this rain." Even though every thought running through his head was screaming just the opposite at him. But when he started walking, a shot of pain jetted through his shoulder, and he cried out.

Song gasped. "You got hurt fighting those jerks, didn't you? Let's get you inside; my guardian knows how to wrap a mean bandage." She led him inside with one arm while Zuko kept constant pressure on the wound with the other.

"Ugh…" The house was nice and clean—everything a normal home should look like. Not like he had ever _had_ a normal home before, but that was besides the point. Song led him into a cozy kitchen where an old man sat drinking a cup of tea and reading the paper.

"Grandpa," she said, "this was the boy I was telling you about. The boy that saved me from Duncan and his stupid friends."

But when the old man looked up, Zuko felt like the breath had been stolen from his lungs. No. No way. A thousand memories immediately came to mind, flashes and pictures and tidbits of information—two men helping him, sliding him food, letting him escape. The man's trimmed white beard, his sparkling amber eyes, his contented smile and relaxed posture.

He… he knew this man. If only in his memories.

And before he could stop himself, he whispered softly, "Uncle."

**

* * *

Post Author's Notes:** So. You're probably about to kill me right now, a) for leaving you alone so long, and b) for giving you such a stupid cliffhanger. Double cliffhanger, actually. Well, I'm sorry. I really am. But reality comes before fantasy, and reality dictates that I get off my lazy bum and get my life headed in the right direction. Ugh.

On that note, reviews are love. They are so ninja and made of awesome, and they would really make my day. I don't care if you want to flame; tell me I suck, tell me I'm awesome, tell me I'm the stupidest person you've ever met. I don't care. Just please be honest and give me your thoughts.


	9. VIII

**Disclaimer:** This is me, still not owning _Avatar: The Last Airbender_. Or _Max Ride_. They belong to Bryke and James Patterson respectively. I do, however, own the rights to this story.

**Author's Notes:** Lots of thanks should go to Angsty Anime Star, Menamebephil, Dragon Firebender84, Togira Ikonka, moonlightbutterflye, Katkid, Sokka's Fan-Lawyer, AvatarAiris, Kiminator Mark XII, Miyiku (my astounding Spanish beta), safarigirl83, vine, and Leathe for reviewing last chapter. Whoo-hoo! The peanut butter to mah jelleh. So, as a reward (and a punishment for me), here is your next update. Enjoy.

**

* * *

The Angel Experiment**

* * *

"_Do you think we could've been friends back then?"_

-Aang to Zuko, "The Blue Spirit"

* * *

Zuko seriously had to fight the urge to go and wrap his arms around the old man. To tremble and break down and call to him, "Uncle, I'm sorry," or to start crying right then and there. It was a battle, but he won.

He had been fighting his emotions since he was old enough to toddle around and say the word "experiment." What was one more day?

The man's grandfatherly gaze flickered to him for a moment, but if he recognized the boy, he showed no signs of it. "This is the boy that saved you, you say?" He was directing his look at Song, and in that moment, Zuko relaxed a little. At least he wasn't looking at _him_ anymore.

Song nodded. "Yes. He practically took a shot for me." She glanced at him shyly, cheeks turning slightly pink. Zuko blinked slowly. What in the world… why was her face turning all red like that?

Hmm. No accounting for girls, he guessed.

"Well then." The elder folded his paper and stood to greet the newcomer. Zuko automatically tensed and twitched away slightly when he offered his hand. A cocked eyebrow. "Generally, when someone offers to shake, you shake." An amused grin caught the old man's lips in a smile.

Zuko shook his dark head. _Idiot._ "I'm sorry, but I'm not good with strangers." He hesitated for another millisecond but took his hand. "So um, do you have a name?" He _really_ didn't want to be calling this guy "Grandfather" for the rest of his life. Way too weird.

He nodded, and Song moved away to pick up his discarded teacup. "You may call me Iroh."

Zuko was pensive. Iroh. It wasn't too hard to remember, yet not one of those generic names. Not like Lee; there were a million Lees. "And I'm…" Ho crap. Once again, his mouth decided to open without his brain's permission. Should he really be doing this? Yes, he felt comfortable with the old man and his lit-up house and his pretty adopted granddaughter, but… should he trust him? So soon? He didn't think so…

Except his Eraser-fied sister slash sorta-friend slash ex-girlfriend (?) were after him, he was completely lost in this God-forsaken woods conveniently located in the middle of nowhere, and the only people who had ever helped him out were either a million miles away by now or completely hated his guts. Could his day _really_ get any worse?

"…I'm Zuko," he finished finally. A hand glided across his chest, and his tags felt cold against his too-warm skin _(almost forgot about those, he did)_. "Just… Zuko."

--

The coffee in his mug was cold.

It always was, always had been since the beginning of time. But to Hakoda, it was tasting extra bitter today.

The man sighed painfully and set his mug on the table, running thick fingers through his hair. He felt haggard and worn, at least eighty years older than he really was. He was sure his premature aging showed on his face, too. He was such an idiot… he had made a stupid mistake. _Did I really expect her to just forgive me after I practically betrayed them?_

Dark blue eyes were hazy, scanning the room yet focusing on nothing. _I shouldn't have._ He was the children's father figure—heck, to two of them, he was their _biological_ father. He had fed them and taken care of them and taught them how to fight. But he had to return. They were looking for him, looking for them. He knew he couldn't stay… but if he came back, if he came back, then he would be on the inside, and the scraggly little flock might have a chance to survive in the real world.

The Whitecoat's hand clenched into a tightened fist. His children might hate him for it, but this was the only way to keep everyone safe. God only knew they needed at least _one_ friendly face in this lovely pit of hell.

--

It was obvious from the look on Aang's face that he was upset. He sat in the back of the small cave, his head just barely touching the low ceiling. The boy's knees were pulled up to his chest, and both of his hands were curled around his legs protectively. Sokka sighed and sat down heavily on the sand floor and tried to apologize.

"Sorry, Aang… but that's what Zuko wanted. He needed to go help that girl out for some—" he threw his hands in the air, "—_stupid_ reason. Ugh. I say good riddance to him."

Toph planted both feet firmly on the ground, arms crossed over her chest angrily. She glared at Sokka, which would've been twice as effective if she hadn't been staring over the top of his head. But still, her words were chilly when she spoke. "Snoozles, you of all people should know not to judge someone's worth by what they look like."

Sokka looked away. He didn't need a little blind girl telling him what to do.

Aang stood up and strode to the mouth of the cavern. "I think we made a mistake," he said softly. "We shouldn't have left him like that."

The eldest's dark blue eyes narrowed. "God only knows he deserves it. He's a mindless, ignorant jerk with nothing better to do than sit around and make people's lives miserable."

Aang looked stricken. He was always so used to seeing the good in people; why couldn't Sokka understand Zuko's potential? "So what, then? He did _one_ bad thing to you, and all of a sudden, you're completely against asking him for help?"

"I already did ask him for help. I thought I could trust him. But instead of our working as a team, he decided to go his own way and do his own thing…" He immediately stopped when he saw the look on Toph's face. He had never seen her so… un-Toph like. Her mouth was set in a grim line somewhere between anger and disbelief.

"So _that's_ what this is all about." She turned away from him, her face the personification of disgust. "We're lost, no guide and _still_ no Katara because you're too much of a dillweed to admit when you're wrong?"Toph shook her head in anger and mute disbelief and sidled up to Aang. "We need that stupid pyro, even if he is a jerk and a moron. But _you—_" she shoved a finger in Sokka's face, "—are an even BIGGER jerk and a moron for not shutting your big mouth and getting the picture. If we want to save Katara, then we. Need. Zuko." She poked him heartily in the chest after every word. As if she needed to emphasize her point any more.

Sokka batted her hand away. "Zuko was an idiot, and we don't need him. We can find Katara on our own. End of story."

The younger boy's face was pleadingly desperate. "But Sokka—"

"End of story."

Toph had a funny look on her face—the same funny look that told everyone to get the heck out of there and start running in the other direction lest they be part of the next natural disaster. She was fast, too fast for Sokka, and grabbed his collar before he could bat an eye. "Get _over_ yourself already!" She was _livid_, jaw set sternly… And, Sokka had to admit, he was terrified. When she finally, finally (sigh of relief) dropped him, his knees turned to jelly and his mouth gaped like a fish out of water. That was so… unexpected.

The girl cursed at him, shook her head, and walked off, brushing by Aang as she passed by. There were large cracks in the earth at her wake.

Aang sniffed and moved to the edge of the cave, curling up into a ball and scooting as far away from Sokka as possible. Toph just shook her head slowly, like she couldn't believe she was living this. Then she settled down in the sand beside Aang, her back facing the wall; they wouldn't even look at him. Sokka's anger evaporated in an instant, and he sighed, retreating to the back of the cave with his trusty backpack—the only thing that didn't hate him right now.

When Dad had left, he had made a promise to himself to take care of the others, no matter how much it cost, and no matter how much they might hate him at the time. But right now, with the sky growing darker and rumbles of thunder off in the distance, all he could do was stare at Toph's head and watch as Aang's shoulders shook softly.

He wanted to think that he was doing the right thing, but all he felt like was a great big jerk.

--

Katara cried.

She tried to listen to Sokka (that annoying voice in her head), she tried to be strong for herself and for everyone else, but she just couldn't. Seeing him again, seeing her dad again… hearing him speak to her like that… it made her want to be sick. She thought she loved him, and she did, but—

She couldn't stand to see him like this. Making these decisions that only served to hurt others. To hurt her. (_Why did he want to hurt her? She was his daughter. He loved her._)

She cried. Not for herself, but for the confused man who called himself Daddy.

--

True to his (or rather Song's) word, Iroh was indeed a veterinarian. The elder guided Zuko back to the bathroom to get a better look at his wounds. _How fitting_, the pyro couldn't help but think. _A __**vet**__ checking me out. Haha… of __**course**__ he couldn't be a normal doctor._

Zuko hissed when he felt roughened fingers brushing against his wound. That definitely hurt more than it was supposed to. Iroh's voice was comforting as he murmured, "Let me get a better look."

The breath caught in his throat. No. If Iroh… then there was no turning back. Not now. Zuko tried to form words and get them to explain his situation. "Um, actually… well, there's this thing I have, this disease or parasite or something on my back, and just to warn you—"

"My boy," the good man chuckled, "I have seen many things in my life; I am sure I can handle whatever it is you have. As long as you are not dying," he joked.

Zuko's rebuttal died into another hiss as Iroh pulled the shirt over his head. Blood was caked around the entrance hole, but thanks to a well-placed handkerchief courtesy of Song, the bleeding had slowed and nearly stopped. Zuko sat on the edge of the tub, every hair standing on end; he could feel the tension literally crackling in the air, and his body tensed against his will. Just one wrong word, one wrong touch, and he would be out of here like a bullet out of a gun. He tried to remember the way out of the house. Down the hallway, turn right, through the kitchen, out the—

Iroh remained silent. He spoke not a word of anything.

Zuko knew he saw them. Honestly, nineteen-foot wings were GROWING OUT OF HIS BACK. They were kind of hard (_impossible_) to miss.

The elder scraped some of the caked blood off the teen's shoulder and set a cooling rag against his skin. "You are awfully hot," he noted. "Good thing, I suppose. The raised body temperature will aid in fighting off the impending infection. You're very lucky, dear boy, to have gotten this looked at."

Involuntarily, Zuko's body sagged as the tension slowly drained away. He choked, "Yeah… I guess I kinda am."

Twenty minutes later, and the deed was done. Iroh had cleaned the wound with some disinfectant, sewn it up, and wrapped a bandage over it to keep it closed. "Do not over-exert yourself too much," the old man had scolded. "I can see it in your eyes that you definitely do not know when to stop."

Well, yeah, that was true.

But now, Zuko was turning around to put his shirt back on, but before he could, Iroh grabbed it. "You can't wear this dirty old thing. Let me get you a new one; one of mine, perhaps."

_That's what they used to do._ When he had accidentally burned himself, the men—the good guys—had given him medicine and some new clothes. Zuko nodded. He tried to stretch his wing (well, come on, it was kind of late now, anyway). The teen winced when he felt a sharp pain through his left one. "Guess I won't be using these anytime soon," he joked sardonically.

Iroh simply nodded, Zuko's dirty shirt balled between his hands. He was twisting it; a common nervous habit in some people…

There.

Right there. Zuko caught the spark of recognition in his eyes. The old man's features were struggling to cover up… _something_ that was waging a war inside him. Zuko made the first step, tentative, awkward, but it was toward Iroh. The old man accepted it.

In a flash, the two embraced, Zuko shaking like some sort of weak child and Iroh clutching him for dear life. "Dear boy… Zuko… I missed you."

Zuko gave in. Shaking hands grasped the old man's jacket. He could feel his shoulder becoming wet. Zuko was so surprised when he finally heard himself speak; he didn't think his voice would be so full. "I've missed you too. Uncle."

--

Sometimes, through instances of extreme emotion, physical and emotional pain, or stressful situations, certain things may occur. Switches may be activated, and things can come spilling out. Things that weren't supposed to make themselves known until later in life.

This was what Aang was experiencing as he glided through the chilly nighttime air. He just needed to FLY—to escape and get away from it all. He wanted to go back and help Zuko, but he was a free man at heart. He loved the appeal of the open sky and the liberty it offered him. There was nothing he could do for his friend right now—heck, he didn't even know where he _was_, much less be able to help him—and he needed to get his mind away from the failure.

His wings beat against gravity, pulling him up, up and forward. He kept going, adrenaline pumping through him. The wind rushed, whistling in his ears, and he could feel his blood pulsing against his fingertips. Yes. But… but no. He was going too fast. Too much, too fast. The ground and the stars were passing too quickly; they were blurring together into muddled streaks against velvet. How was this possible?

Aang panicked. This wasn't supposed to happen this way.

He stopped, glided, and didn't pause until he could feel his heart unsettle itself from his throat. He swallowed. All he managed to choke was a startled, "Wow. Didn't see _that_ coming." And then maybe as an afterthought, "Wait until the guys hear about _this_."

Looks like nobody would be beating him in any races anytime soon. Heh heh.

**

* * *

Post Author's Notes:** Yay discovery! Looks like Aang's got some nifty new powers, and Katara and Zuko are both on the brink of discovering theirs.

Now I don't know about you, but I'm getting bored of this same old same old "Fly a few days, camp out" setup. I think it's time we get some real kick-butt action going, don't you?

Let me introduce to you the Dangerous Ladies. Have fun, everyone, and play nice for your author.


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